Religion Dispatches
…make a “Passover offering.” Seven is a biblically significant number, the number of completion and perfection, and in this spring of 2007 the Praise-a-thon began on Easter Sunday, the seventh day of Passover. If you make the Passover offering, Munsey claims, God will give you seven blessings: God will dispatch an angel to lead miracles; rid you of your enemies; bless you with prosperity; heal you; give you longevity; give you an inheritance you k…
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…le of sacred warfare has been an exciting and alluring image among a large number of mostly young and largely male Muslims around the world for over a decade. It is an image that was brought to dramatic attention by the September 11, 2001 attacks, and stimulated by the perception that US military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq were wars against Islam. This jihadi vision of sacred warfare was propagated by the internet, through postings on chat ro…
Read More…llege they call ‘home’ would act this way.” When I spoke to Corvino on the phone Tuesday, he seemed to be wrestling with the same concerns, noting that the school’s sudden cancellation of his event sent the message that the presence of openly gay folks was like “a virus that might infect the students if they’re not protected.” Corvino reflected this same concern in a blog post Wednesday, It’s difficult not to feel as if the Providence College admi…
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…ople targeted for their sexual orientation. US National Security Advisor Susan Rice told the Washington Blade’s Michael Lavers “that the global response to the Pulse nightclub massacre is a direct challenge to the so-called Islamic State and those ‘who foster hate and division’ in the U.S. and abroad.” Activists worried about the potential for additional attacks against LGBT events. BuzzFeed’s Lester Feder reported that “anti-immigrant politicians…
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…ild here—have done bombing campaigns, killing, maiming, and displacing thousands of Nuba people. Now in the current war which started two weeks ago and escalates day by day, thousands have been killed in Kadugli and bombed by Antonovs across the towns and villages of South Kordofan. The government of Sudan has blocked roads and closed the Kadugli airport. The humanitarian aid organizations have been obstructed from distributing food and other aid…
Read More…any other name) a Reconstructionist? And as Gerson noted in his essay, the number of people who can be labeled in this way would “fit in a phone booth.” (Actually there are significantly more than he recognizes, but I take his point.) My point, though, is that this is the wrong question. Far more interesting, I think, is to look at the influence of Christian Reconstruction; how has it impacted the style of the conservative Christianity that makes…
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…rts and shows, as well as contributing to these dialogues we’re having. My phone’s ringing off the hook, and I’m participating as much as I can in discussions with LGBT lay people and clergy. There are so many people who want to have a positive dialogue about this. I’m getting to the point that I feel like I can engage at a positive level and contribute to that conversation. So, did you follow the recent change in the Presbyterian Church-USA? Th…
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…olics in West Virginia have questioned both Bransfield’s personal and diocesan expenditures for years now, but only some information has been made public. Diocesan spokespeople and Catholic Charities officials have stated publicly that the church in West Virginia does draw money from unspecified “fossil fuel investments”—and it is surely significant that one of the four lay members of Bransfield’s finance council has a background as a lobbyist for…
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…ere not companionship-based. They were economic arrangements. Okay, that’s number 1. Number 2, let’s say that your wife didn’t provide you with a male offspring. A man could take another wife and another wife and another wife until one of them did. This is the “sanctity of marriage” that is being protected. Are you kidding me? Wow. Okay, so that’s Old Testament. Then along comes Jesus. Well for those of us who follow Jesus, I always like to point…
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…ential material,” said Mpofu. “Oh yeah,” echoes Bourland. “In my heart, I just begin to pray, God, let this woman rise to this place that you want her to go,” said Mpofu. “Number one, she’s a Christian. Number two, she’s a woman.” Watch a short video montage of the conference here. —Ed….
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