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Argue-by-Number: A Suggestion for the Church

…y sacred book into perfectly familiar and battle-worn clichés? Is it for…amusement? Some church-goers do seem to relish a good fight. Quarreling entertains them. Some exchanges in church come to resemble amateur theatricals—or, more precisely, long-running soap operas. They keep running because they still attract viewers—and so sponsors. There’s the second motive: habit. Repeating fighting words about homosexuality in church has become in the last…

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Rage Against the New Age Machine: Three Days at the Osho International Meditation Resort

…not have AIDS, a lengthy registration and payment. Although Osho’s guesthouse and “multiversity” accept credit cards, the registrar requires cash for the resort’s day passes, food and other amenities. Discovering that I lacked the rupees to cover the class’ costs, a serene blonde volunteer taxied me to an off-campus cash machine. Each time the ATM refused my request, my adrenaline surged. I knew Citibank could be unreliable, but why was a peace-a…

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One of These Things is Not Like the Other: Religion and the Obama Campaign

…estively titled, “Called to Bring Change,” declares, “We do what we do because God is with us.” Finally, a large panel, entitled “Called to Christ,” states: “Kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works.” Sen. Obama has good tactical reasons for doing this. First, it reminds people he’s not Muslim. Se…

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‘Soul of Yoga’ at Stake in Texas Regulation Push

…stian leaders have proclaimed that Christians should not practice yoga because it is religiously Hindu. Fundamentalist Hindus agree that yoga is indeed Hindu and has been inappropriately co-opted by members of other religions. Because the politics of yoga is so intimately tied to the religious dimensions, we need to critically examine decisions about what counts as religious for their political implications and real-life consequences. If members o…

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Is the Satanic Temple Just an Elaborate Prank? 10 Questions for the Author of ‘Speak of the Devil’

…reedom, and religious pluralism. If people are entertained, it will be because TST is such an interesting phenomenon and has done some unbelievable things. I really didn’t set out to piss anyone off, although some of TST’s opponents on the religious right may regard anything positive or even neutral said about TST as an attack on Christianity. In 2018, TST went through a shake up in which a lot of members left to form their own politically progres…

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Brits Get A Dose of Christian Nation Politicking

…ther religious faiths, too.”  (Like the Prime Minister using his office to promote his Christian faith.) But then Cameron reveals his politician’s circumspection, arguing on the one hand that advocates of “secular neutrality fail to grasp the consequences of that neutrality, or the role that faith can play in helping people to have a moral code.” That accusation is abruptly followed by the disclaimer that “[o]f course, faith is neither necessary n…

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The Sad Saga of a Compromised Rabbi

…e had a private conversation. He was, as one can imagine, very upset at my use of the term “fascist.” In a previous personal message sent to me the day before he read my accusation, he acknowledged our differences and asked if I wanted to have a conversation. I replied I would be happy to and briefly made my perspective on things quite clear. I then noted that others had also used that word to describe his position and sent him one such blog. I as…

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The Secret History of Easter

…rd “Easter” takes its name from a Germanic goddess. (The Romance languages use some form of the Latin “Pascha,” which is derived from the Hebrew “Pesach” meaning “Passover.”) It’s also true that Pagan fertility customs used in vernal equinox celebrations (eggs and rabbits) were incorporated into Easter festivities.  But Christians are hardly ignorant of this history. As early as the Protestant Reformation there were debates about purging Pagan ele…

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Dear President Bush

…Millionaires and billionaires padded their pockets with money they had no use for while literally millions are on the brink of homelessness or are already homeless. You helped build America’s house on the sand and now that the storm has come it may not stand. One of the first jobs God gave to humans was to care for the earth God created. You have continually drawn the ire of those seeking to live this call by seeking public policy that threatens…

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Francis the Jesuit: a Philosopher-Pope?

…re, what, and what now?—demands a serious response, leading to a highly focused narrative account of one’s life.   This storytelling is what one critic has termed an advanced literary exercise, a “re-editing” of the self in which one narrative, a life to come, was traced over another, a life already lived. Yes, this is literary drama. Yet what we have in the Spiritual Exercises is a textual practice minus the page: it is the individual life that f…

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