Religion Dispatches
…When the last of the earth’s coal has been burned… But something new is brewing, and it will require thoughtfulness and great care in the months and years ahead. This is an issue that both blends and exploits the twinned matters of modern technology and an interconnected, energy-driven global economy. These are symbols of the very modernity I have already mentioned as inspiring various forms of religious reaction around the world. There will be…
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…n which Haitians make sense of this tragedy, and I suspect we will find growing numbers of Pentecostal converts as Haitians attempt to find meaning in what can only be described as senseless and inexplicable suffering. Sarah Posner | Judging Pat Robertson’s Influence Evangelical pastors, writers, and activists have stepped up to condemn Pat Robertson’s remarks about Haiti, saying that he does not represent them, nor do comments represent Christi…
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…e when right-wing populists (together with Republican operatives and right-wing media) wielded conspiracy theories like a knife to gut the Clinton Administration like an Arkansas River trout. When it was clear that Barack Obama was a serious presidential contender in mid-2008, I started writing a study about how conspiracy theories and right-wing populism were on the rise. Published in June 2009, it was titled Toxic to Democracy, and warned that:…
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…on the Obama administration “to take immediate steps to defuse the tension with the Jewish State” (while saying nothing to indicate any displeasure with the Israeli government’s gratuitous insult of the American vice president). Other conservative pro-Israel organizations, both Jewish and Christian, soon followed suit, ignoring (as they always have) the settlements provocation and blaming the American administration for the disagreement. The progr…
Read More…I last saw him: on this road toward the mosque, in the evening around tarawih time. I have my flashlight handy because once I past the community kitchen, the darkness is overwhelming. But I only need it for a short while. After that I am surrounded by holiday lights in multiple colors and configurations. They celebrate this month with these decorations and it makes the last part of my solitary walk filled with both light and the deep darkness of…
Read More…wrong. But it’s hard not to take on the church when its response to the growing scandal is termed as gossip, not once, but twice, and the criticism of the Pope or the church compared to attacks on Jesus and the extermination of the Jews. I jumped into the media scrum, partly because it is a topical story and I write about religious history, but primarily because I have dealt with this issue off and on for nine years, in one way or another. My firs…
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…d to television in 2005, we have seen the Doctor break this rule at least twice: in his interactions with Reinette (Madame de Pompadour) in the episode “The Girl in the Fireplace” and more recently in the case of Amelia (Amy) Pond. Should this sort of thing be illegal in intergalactic law? Not that anyone would likely be able to track the Doctor down and bring charges against him. But science fiction regularly provides an excellent venue for refle…
Read More…raphed a piece of paper on the dashboard of Roeder’s car: It contained the phone number of Cheryl Sullenger, Operation Rescue’s senior policy advisor, who served two years in prison for conspiring to bomb abortion clinics in 1988. Roeder also told me that Sullenger was present at the lunch with Newman where they discussed “justifiable” homicide, and that Newman had given Roeder the autographed copy of his book just three months before Roeder kille…
Read More…ngle and other candidates like her by, among other things, targeting particular audiences: I have put together a plan to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Nevada Senate race — along with several others like it — to achieve conservative victory. This plan includes running statewide television and radio ads, sending direct mail to targeted voters, and operating phone banks — all geared toward defeating Harry Reid in November. DeMint a…
Read More…shwater and his supporters have done everything but accept personal responsibility for his actions. I have not spoken to Zachary’s mother Jenifer about this (The judge has issued gag orders in both the termination hearing and the civil case.) but with the trial still weeks away, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has grown so weary with the personal attacks made on her family and the amount of time, effort and money that has gone into this case that s…
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