Religion Dispatches
…known for attacks on Scientology, decided to send a message to the Catholic Church by shutting down the official Vatican website (still not responding as of this posting). What are the Church’s misdeeds, according to these code crusaders? They go back to the selling of indulgences in the 16th century. And more recently, of course, there’s the Church’s interference in Italy’s domestic politics. (Not just Italy, we’d have to say.) – The Eds. …
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…n into schools – the furore began two years ago when almost 200,000 people signed a petition in Baden-Wurttemberg, afraid schools would sexualize children by promoting gay lifestyles, and they have since followed in Bavaria and Hesse. The far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party, which made gains in the regional elections this year, has also published a proposal to strip out much of the homo-trans-and bisexuality teaching in schools and i…
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…ghly a third have to do with LGBT people. “Religious freedom” has become a code-word for those looking to stymie LGBT equality. Any “threat” to marriage always seems to come from those hoping to access the institution, but never from heterosexuals (despite escalating rates of divorce, domestic violence, and infidelity in such unions). Defending “bathroom privacy” is a thinly veiled (and well-documented) scare-tactic used to demonize transgender pe…
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…s reality to words in a heart-wrenching lyric, “you protest and you picket sign, but them courts won’t side with you.” Ocean’s words are pregnant with a hungry negativity. It is evident the poor and oppressed are suffering from a famine of justice. It won’t do to wax poetically about heaven, a “renewed earth” or even the resurrection, when God’s Good News of justice seems to have gone missing from our material world. As theologian Walter Brueggema…
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…ause it’s the very definition of voter intimidation, which is illegal. The Code of Laws of the United States of America states that: “Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President,…
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…evers who use the app. The gamified Socratic dialogue and library of essays and resources on Atheos are a good starting point. Atheos would do well to add nuanced, more human elements to what are currently one-dimensional caricatures of faith. But perhaps the most challenging and significant element of the app is fundamental to its basic design: every situation or argument has more than one right answer. * * * Also on The Cubit: “I don’t believe i…
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…us freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance,” wrote Martin R. Castro, Chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, in his closing remarks on the commission’s recent 300-page report on “Peaceful Coexistence” between nondiscrimination principles and civil liberties. “Religiou…
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…ublic, “what is the society we are trying to create?” Rules of Engagement: Promoting “Public Safety” When I speak to my fellow Christians, urging public engagement, I stress that the goal is not to invade the public square with Christian imperialism disguised as evangelism. Diverse people with different perspectives who seek, and compete for, seemingly dwindling resources can be a formula for discord. Our media provide striking examples of public…
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…Corinthians”) as ordinary Americans are with the loopholes of the IRS tax code…‘The Art of the Deal,’ his campaign biography by default, is a human billboard for pride and lust…‘I’m a greedy person,’ he told an Iowa audience, ‘I’ve always been greedy.’ Prothero’s explanation is structured around the notion of evangelicals’ loss of their fundamental religious identity through politicization. In supporting Trump, Prothero insists, evangelicals “are…
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…Deseret News included Trijicon in the list because the company “inscribed coded biblical references on high-powered rifle sights used by the U.S. military.” That’s it. Other than the founder’s purported religious beliefs, its inclusion is arbitrary. Why not include Ebay, whose founder Pierre Omidyar is a Buddhist, or any of Sheldon Adelson’s businesses? Trying to draw a line between “business with religious roots” and “everything else in global c…
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