Religion Dispatches
…uznetsov’s bunker), or contestation. Violence arises when these disputes continue to escalate. From this perspective, while placing an ‘X’ on barcodes may seem silly, it’s better than some of the alternatives….
Read More…was the issue that “really” mattered, threatening to rupture the alliance between the Catholic hierachy and the political right. What was most striking about Francis’ addresses both Wednesday and Thursday was how issues that were once front and center when any member of the Catholic hierarchy spoke, are now talked about in coded language. For the average American, Catholic or not, listening to him speak at the White House on Wednesday morning, th…
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…dy for some serious War on Culture…er…culture war. So there’s Christian as code-word for ‘evangelical.’ Like when Republican politicians say it. And there’s Christian meaning Protestant, as opposed to Catholic. And there’s Christian the way a missionary might mean it, (as opposed to heathen?). And there are those “anonymous Christians,” or involuntary Christians…was that Rahner who devised that category? Does anyone outside of seminary or grad sch…
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…” theologies, and boldly touts its commitment to tolerance. Moreover, its code of ethics includes: “We commit ourselves to respecting the diversity of ecumenical, theological, ideological and personal expressions of the various faiths and traditions found in our community.” Since the aforementioned is an ongoing case that most likely contains more details than those I’ve offered, I use it only as a backdrop to illustrate the ease in which orthodo…
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…, wielding government power will mean a dramatic expansion of the criminal code. It will not be enough, for example, to reach an accommodation with the abortion regime, to agree on ‘reasonable limits’ on when unborn human life can be snuffed out with impunity. (…) The Dobbs decision was in a sense the end of the beginning of the pro-life cause. Now comes the real fight, in state houses across the country, to outlaw completely the barbaric practice…
Read More…d year went into effect on January 1. The country’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, is openly gay. Gambia: Anti-Gay President Survives Coup Attempt The anti-gay dictator-president of Gambia, Yayha Jammeh, survived a clumsy coup attempt last week, which seems likely to lead to even more brutal political repression. Vietnam: New Law Drops Ban on Same-Sex Couples Marrying “Vietnam’s new marriage law, which went into effect New Year’s Day, abolished re…
Read More…who wants a Christian president, particularly one who would revise the tax code “so we can rejoice together because it would stimulate economic growth.” (Huckabee’s hosted debate, though, this past weekend, was more of a snooze than a circus.) In 2008 Huckabee got a fundraising boost from Kenneth Copeland, Word of Faith megastar. Copeland, at the time under investigation by the Senate Finance Committee for misuse of tax-deductible donor funds, cla…
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…nalism. If Democrats wish to embody their espoused values of inclusion and freedom for all Americans, they ought to ignore the Republican framing of the question entirely and instead find a better story to tell. Christianity remains hegemonic in American discourse, and that’s a key reason Democrats display such a lack of imagination in this area. At best, they give a nod to other religions while leaving Christianity front and center. The Christian…
Read More…g or killing them made no sense to me. I’ve always believed that there are better alternatives to war or killing your enemy. I agree with Clement of Alexandria who wrote: “As simple and quiet sisters, peace and love require no arms. For it is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained.” The exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the military then, to me, was not an issue. I never wanted to serve, so it didn’t bother me that the military didn’…
Read More…and Donald Argue, members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, said that the language was “a cleverly coded way of granting religious leaders the right to criminalize speech and activities that they deem to insult religion.” Moon’s UN project? Still in the hopper! To gain a better appreciation for Moon’s powerful political, religious, and economic empire, check out John Gorenfeld’s Bad Moon Rising: How Reverend Moon Created th…
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