Religion Dispatches
…tion” uttered out loud any longer. What one does hear, however, amounts to code for the same thing. Thus, R.J. Rushdoony’s still-influential ideas about forging a godly nation—a nation organized according to biblical law—take it pretty much for granted that godly social organization has whites on top. Rushdoony, who lived into the current century, condemned interracial marriage as “unequal yoking.” Un-dead David Barton, another hugely influential…
Read More…of Haile Selassie’s only visit to Jamaica, which Rastafarians who saw the Ethiopian leader as a messiah continue to celebrate as Grounation (or Groundation) Day. Such stories make me wonder about some people’s attraction to living charismatic leaders. As someone who grew up in a religious tradition that pledged loyalty to only one human being—dead approximately two thousand years—it’s difficult to understand how others can embrace the tremendous…
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…ity of “news” and an (at least initial) inability for users to distinguish between credible news outlets and non-credible ones—that contributed to the plausibility of the announcement. Third, a good hoax hovers on the edge of believability. Like Scope Bacon, Google Nose Beta, or a Martian invasion, a well-crafted prank should have a solid media penetration (multiple and interlinked sources) and just enough of a connection to reality to make it see…
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…of the duties of the Muslim ruler and established furthermore an elaborate code of conduct for initiating war. And this is where we must look deeper. Privileging the legal literature above other kinds of literature—particularly the exegetical literature on the Qur’an and ethical treatises—in discussions of jihad almost inevitably leads to the conclusion that it is primarily a collective military obligation incumbent upon able-bodied Muslim men in…
Read More…nguish himself from his pal John McCain who seems willing to differentiate between extremist Muslims and the mainstream faithful. Those are important points, but they all overlook what is, perhaps, the most troubling aspect of this mini-scandal: it fits within a growing pattern of elite non-Muslims misappropriating Islamic phrases and insisting that the most extreme interpretations or uses are the correct ones. Think about the term “jihad.” It’s o…
Read More…port was released, Monk openly appeared (in possible violation of military code) at the Values Voters Summit for a panel. The Liberty Institute’s Jeff Mateer 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.”…
Read More…s down to the ground in dishonor” (Lamentations 2:2). The Bible-activation-code turns biblical grief over the (past) conquest of Judah by Babylon into a filmic prophecy about the imminent future. The Bible’s ever-ready protagonist-villain pair—Judah and Babylon—triggers that long-imagined connection between the chosen people and the United States. Wall Street becomes a potential holy victim, and Russia, in a call-back to actual Cold War apocalypti…
Read More…also want to have a happy family.” According to the Taipei Times, scuffles between the demonstrators calmed down after organizers agreed to let activists participate as long as they stayed quiet. “However, despite the organizer’s decision, when the gay rights activists walked into the venue, some of those attending the church rally tried to block their entrance, leading to more minor verbal and physical clashes….When one of the same-sex marriage a…
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…osely one of the key planks of the proposed Charter, namely to draw a line between ‘ostentatious’ and ‘non-ostentatious’ religious signs, and their respective degrees of permissibility within the public sector workplace. “From this point on,” it was stated in one government document, “those working for the state must demonstrate their religious neutrality, not only in their behavior but also in their appearance.” The proposed Bill thus proscribe…
Read More…ing house, arguing that the book violated Article 295A of the Indian Penal Code, which forbids “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class of citizens.” The school teacher was Mr. Batra, a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization. As early as 2001, Mr. Batra has engaged in political and legal measures to affect educational curriculum through his organization…
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