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In Praise of Failure: Is Defining Religion Such a Good Idea?

…ng any distinctive rights or obligations: bye-bye to the establishment and free-exercise clauses of the Constitution, etc. They might as well protect us from the “establishment” of widget and the “free exercise” thereof. Both are meaningless, since neither “widget” nor “religion” point to anything specific. Linker, on the other hand, takes the exact opposite tack: he legislates the meaning of “religion” as those particular referents marked by the…

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Paul Ryan Is Like Jesus, But It’s Not What You Think

…arket economics. One of the best examples is the Rev. Robert Sirico of the free market Acton Institute, who released a video attempting to defend his views against Evangelii Gaudium. Best “who, me?” line: “Who is advocating a market without regulations, without law?” On the Eternal Word Television Network program The World Over last week, Bishop Robert Morlino, the bishop of Madison, Wisconsin, discussed a portion of Evangelii Gaudium in which the…

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Time for Jews to Abandon the Old Foundation Myth of Israel?

…; cooperation is perfectly possible, so it pays to make serious efforts to promote it, which means being responsive to the changing concerns of everyone else in the web. There are rights and wrongs done on every side; it makes no sense to measure how much blame accrues to any one side, because finger-pointing blocks the way to cooperation. Self-esteem comes from promoting cooperation; if self-esteem must depend on showing one’s strength (an open q…

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Ten Commandments of the Antichrist: The Georgia Guidestones

…agenda; with only a few dissenting voices pointing out that any assault on free speech, even the free speech of an anonymous cabal, threatens the rights of all. The vandalism of the Guidestones seems to be a classic case of an eccentric and lofty idea under assault by the hoi polloi. In fact, a letter from the monument’s benefactors printed by the Elberton Granite Finishing Company predicted just such a scenario. They ask that the people of Elbert…

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Romney Accuses Obama of Stifling Religious Liberty

…abstinence education in our children’s schools—their devotion to religious freedom goes out the window. They would force Catholics and others who have beliefs rooted in their faith to sacrifice the teachings of their faith to the mandate of federal bureaucrats. That’s the same Romney who pledged, while he was running for governor of Massacusetts in 2002, “I respect and will protect a woman’s right to choose. This choice is a deeply personal one. W…

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Burning Man: Religious Event or Sheer Hedonism?

…ished around the Man as it ignites and burns, once it collapses people are free to surge toward and dance around the pyre.) My nieces puzzled over this for a moment, and soon realized this anonymous individual was indeed shouting “theater” in the midst of a rather “crowded fire.” When they told me this story later that night, I immediately seized on it as the title of what was at the time my dissertation as I thought it spoke brilliantly and provo…

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Good (Enough) Christians — Russell Moore in The Atlantic Illustrates the Limitations of ‘Christian Nationalism’ as Category

…s of abortion rights and LGBTQ inclusion, can obtain “get out of criticism free” cards simply because they are outspoken opponents of Christian nationalism. Clearly we need better language to address anti-democratic Christian beliefs. So how does one responsibly cover Christian nationalists these days? To begin with, we must find language that doesn’t allow for the easy whitewashing of “respectable” Christians who hold authoritarian theological be…

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The Tea Party, the Blind Man, and the Elephant: Part 1

…told a councilman that if he could find access to the shop he could have a free sub. Now the place hosts (and I mean hosts: free wings and sausage and their locally-famous sweet tea) a monthly tea party meeting. I’ll admit to being put off when a few weeks back the character of the sign changed: it said “a red-neck, Bible thumping (something or other) owns this joint,” making me feel generally unwelcome. Last night there were over 100 people there…

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Does Traditional Christian Marriage Just Mean “Not Gay”?

…a. The Hitching Post offers three venues for the wedding: a chapel, mostly free of religious symbols but adorned with flowers and foliage; a “Western room,” with cowboy-boot-and-gun decor; and a “Victorian Sitting Room,” which also has flowers and foliage. The ministers will also perform weddings at ski resorts and outdoor locations. They have performed weddings on boats, on horseback, on roller coasters, and in hot air balloons. None of this seem…

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Lindsey Graham’s Lying “Eye-ranians”

…dog whistle?) in his deceptiveness. But the focus on lying reaps other tax-free dividends, in part because there is no easy way to prove you are not a liar. (Proving a negative, after all.) Consider: All Muslims are dishonest, and they’re at their most dishonest when they’re claiming to be honest. What could you possibly say to that? Well, I’ve met a lot of Islamophobes, and I’ve learned: Take them at their word. Assume they’re not lying. Speak in…

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