Religion Dispatches
…y don’t believe in God. And as my husband noticed, Gervais in no way says anything disrespectful or harsh to Christians. All he does is lay out a case for his atheism, as well as tell a story about how, as a little boy, he came to lose his faith in God. I used to believe in God. The Christian one that is. I loved Jesus. He was my hero. More than pop stars. More than footballers. More than God. God was by definition omnipotent and perfect. Jesus wa…
Read More
…ture, and they told me they still cared for me. And I can’t tell you how many times I remember the phone call she made and the letter he sent. To the rest of you, those I potlucked with, laughed with, held your hands, loved your babies, went to your weddings, your sickbeds, your moments of crisis: Where are you? Why have you let me go to what you believe to be perdition? Are you just too busy? Did I never matter that much? Have I fooled myself bel…
Read More…eer put his hand on Monk’s shoulder and praised him, saying, “We’ve gotten phone calls from military members who are undergoing discrimination…and with the exception of him, those folks that have called us have all wanted to remain anonymous. Sergeant Monk, to his credit, is willing to stand up.” Let’s read between the lines here: Monk is, quite literally, the best example of discrimination against Christians in the military that the Liberty Inst…
Read More
…quality control one would anticipate when face-to-face, or when shared in any way that brings the physical body into play. There’s an ability to hide oneself through technology that reduces vulnerability and reserve. What to do about this? I’m not giving up my messaging, and I’m not suggesting anyone should. Tweet if you must. Update your Facebook profile. There’s no turning back from this technology, the increased speed and ease with which we sha…
Read More
…gions. The whole world is isomorphic with a Muslim world differentiated by numbers; often, though not necessarily, a road to more democratic perception. Demographics aren’t the perfect determinant, but they’re better than any other determinant we have. The most important consequence? Because America has Muslims, America is a Muslim-minority nation. That means America is as much a part of a global Muslim conversation as any other society. But that’…
Read More
…use he says what their fears want to hear. He can’t deliver any more than anyone else can.” But that doesn’t keep him, or any of the other candidates or pastors from promising that security, whether it’s offered through God, guns or the government. How did we get into such as sorry state? Gentiles, Spong says. Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy John Shelby Spong HarperOne February 16, 2016 In his new book, Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy,…
Read More
…1321. All the documents talked about this massacre, but none of them gave any numbers. I came to the conclusion that this probably was not a big massacre. It happened in a tiny town in the middle of the mountains. They probably were talking about it as a massacre in order to justify the fines on the populace. You might say it’s like people talking about anti-Semitism in order to justify fundraising. On my last day of research in this archive, I ca…
Read More…I learned that it is possible to blog your way through Ramadan, sharing many ideas along the way, and yet still keep some things between you and Allah alone. The idea to do this one hundred-day blog came to me on my recent return from Indonesia. While there, my friends said hajj would be a challenge because of gender restrictions. Then a friend described people doing tawaf, or circumambulation around the kaaba, while sending text messages on a mo…
Read More…ged people to think twice. A Church spokesman said: “We don’t want to see anyone leave the Church, especially people who have been struggling with any aspect of their life. “It’s extremely important that our members read what leaders have said, and do not rely on other sources or interpretations or what people think they have said,” Eric Hawkins said in a statement. Ireland: Same-sex couples begin marrying Same-sex couples began to get legally mar…
Read More
…are not ever-vigilant. . . Yes. And just as we must better understand how any religion can be turned toward and made to express hatred, so too we can and must give ourselves to turning our faith traditions against such hatred so that they may be vehicles of life and hope. But what does this mean in the specific case of the black church, in relation to the LGBT community? In its black church expression, what does Christianity’s turn against religio…
Read More