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Why is Liberty Institute Still Defending Phillip Monk?

By Rob Shryock

…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…

Facebook, Twitter, and the Death of Body Language

By Anthony B. Pinn

…I’m not trading in my TREO, and I’m not canceling the media package on my phone or reducing the number of messages I sent through that magical device. I am not calling for a technology purge. I’m simply noting that technology comes with a price, and this price has something of a postmodern twist. By this I mean that tweeting and other high-tech modalities of exchange send information about happenings, attitudes, feelings, and events—but in a way…

Obama’s Muslim Strategy 2.0

By Haroon Moghul

…heir heads against the statist ceilings above them? Who, in that contest, will we choose? Will we make like Dick Cheney and shoot our friends in the face? We can work with the governments of the few or work responsibly and prudently towards enabling governments of the many. There is as yet not enough evidence of this; the network-building proceeds apace, but often avoids facing up to difficult political questions. If he does not insist on the imp…

Why It’s Heresy to Read the Bible Literally: An Interview with John Shelby Spong

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…e controversial. I don’t like being controversial. I get abused a lot in mail, phone calls and that sort of thing. I don’t enjoy that. But, if you are controversial in the public arena, the people who have given up on Christianity say, “My God, there must be something more to this story than I realized.” So, being controversial is my doorway to the generation of my own children. “The primary issue in the Christian church today is to get away from…

“Reason to Worry”: An Anti-Semitism Scholar Opens Up on Trump, Misogyny and the Future of Anti-Judaism

By Michael Schulson

…th century paper which said that dozens of people—300 or so, I think—were killed in the village. It even described how some were dragged from under their beds, and how their throats were slit. I suddenly realized that I had constructed this explanation which minimized this event, even though the full extent of the terror was only visible on that one little piece of 14th century paper. I felt this way when I was forwarded this Twitter study, that I…

Lessons Learned this Ramadan

By Amina Wadud

…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 mobile phone. I just cannot see totally giving up my one-on-one moments with Allah just for a blog. That being said, let the preparations to meet the king begin….

UNESCO on Religion, Culture and SOGI in Asia; Orthodox Family Sues to Stop Cremation of Israeli Trans Woman; Struggles of Iraqi Queer Activists; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…t is officially defeated. “The introduction of this amendment and other similar bills throughout Eastern Europe is an alarming trend that contributes to increased violence and discrimination. We urge the Obama Administration to publicly condemn this legislation and to press the Lithuanian government to ensure that the amendment is not reintroduced.” Tomas V. Raskevičius, Policy Coordinator of the Lithuanian Gay League, said: “Despite the fact that…

Emanuel’s Pulse: A Plea for Black Church–LGBTIQ Solidarity

By J. Kameron Carter

…). Life’s (w)holiness, notwithstanding the bullet holes now in it. With vigilance, hold vigil with me. We know that neither Christianity nor Islam are reducible to the violence perpetrated in their names. Just as we didn’t reduce Christianity to Dylann Roof, it’s nothing but an expression of Islamophobia to reduce Islam to what Omar Mateen has done or the wake of carnage he’s left. In a Facebook post, Emilie Townes said it well: Radical hatred is…

Looking For Answers at the Oscars: A Guide to This Year’s Contenders

By S. Brent Rodriguez Plate

…he real challenges of living and loving as a family, no matter how that family is created. The film lets us in on the well-known secret that who we are is comprised in large part by the family we belong to, for better or worse. Writer/Director Lisa Cholodenko makes a subtle-but-strong argument for the bonds of nurture over those of nature—that who we are is a product of our most intimate relations and not that of biological or political forces. Th…

James Foley Prayed, But He Was Not a Martyr

By Alana Massey

…rayers that were going back and forth between Libya in 2011 and Foley’s family and community were a silent but deeply felt exchange of love. Whether it’s supernatural or not is immaterial. And while Foley’s captivity in Syria was decidedly more grim, we can hope that the “cosmic reach of the universe” penetrated the fortifications of the impossibly cruel ISIS. It would be vulgar to indulge in speculative fiction that claims James Foley was praying…