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Tweeting ISIS Attacks: A Lesson in Not Learning a Lesson

…. Hamas, for example, the governing power in the Gaza Strip, condemned the Paris and Beirut bombings, and connected the terrorism Parisians suffer to the terrorism they allege is practiced by Israel. This might strike you as laughable, even offensive. But consider the gravity of the situation. Hamas is not ISIL, and those who confuse the two might one day rue the conflation. My greater fear is that the longer the occupation grinds on, the more ISI…

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Beyond Alarmism and Denial in the Dominionism Debate

…by a Senate investigation, but by a sex scandal (his accusers, young male parishioners at his church, charged that he used his spiritual authority to coerce them into sex). In investigating televangelism scandals, I found one verse from Scripture quoted repeatedly, in reference to attempts to question leaders: “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” (Psalm 105:15). I’ve interviewed people who truly believed that if they questioned…

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Episcopal Church Assault Data Reveals the Dark Side of Inclusive Christianity

…those victims who did report their victimization to Episcopal leaders, the number one assessment from both trans/non-binary and cisgender respondents was that “little or no change” came about as a result. 20.6% of transgender and non-binary survivors reported that they simply left the church altogether. By comparison, “only” 10.7% of cisgender women felt they had to leave. (Curiously, there’s no data on this front for LGB-identified Episcopalians….

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Sacred Texting: When Religious Writ Gets Wired

…ability of cell phones to be used for impure activities, some Jewish cell-phone users have requested so-called “kosher” phones. The idea is to offer conservative Jews a phone that is free of “corrupting influences” of the sort that are already avoided by ultra-orthodox Jews through a ban on television and some radio. Reuters reported in February 2008 that Bezeq Israel Telecom launched a new “kosher” landline phone service, which will block calls…

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Power Up: Turn Off the Cell Phone

…plugged-in lifestyle doesn’t really get at the heart of the issue. I think the Amish, of all people, have it right. It’s not so much about what you as an individual are doing or not doing, as the effect technology has on the community: Why not make life easier and just put [a phone] in the house? “What would that lead to?” another Amish man asked me. “We don’t want to be the kind of people who will interrupt a conversation at home to answer a tel…

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Why The Book of Mormon (the Musical) is Awesomely Lame

…Heavenly Father sent him to Uganda instead of his favorite place on Earth—Orlando! The recurring musical outbursts about Orlando, Florida, were for me the funniest parts of the show. There are indeed striking similarities between Temple Square and Disney World: the fantasy-castle architecture; the immaculate, artificial neatness; the perky helpfulness of “cast members”/missionaries; the imagineering and the edutainment in service of a well-groome…

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“Saints Are Only Human”: Leaving the Church, But Heeding this Pope’s Lessons

…right T-shirts with slogans about immigration reform. On line I heard that parishes with large numbers of undocumented immigrants had received many tickets. No outside food or water, statues, gifts or selfie sticks were permitted. Despite 10,000 folding chairs, most of us would have no choice but to stand. Once in my appointed place behind the last row of seats, I found myself in a community of fellow pilgrims, lottery winners from local parishes,…

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We Went Through Amoris Laetitia Section by Section So You Wouldn’t Have To

…ualism is bad. Also, he notes but offers no explanation for the decreasing number of marriages in many countries. I am glad to see that in Section 34 he understands this basic fact of contemporary western culture: The ideal of marriage, marked by a commitment to exclusivity and stability, is swept aside whenever it proves inconvenient or tiresome. The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fe…

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Pride Month & Prejudice; ‘Worrisome Time’ For LGBT People; Global LGBT Recap

…t publicly opposed marriage equality and declared she would boycott Qantas airline “where possible” to protest the company’s support for marriage equality. She also told a Christian radio station that “tennis is full of lesbians.” Navratilova has said that while Court was “an amazing tennis player,” she is also “a racist and a homophobe.” Court charged that money from America was behind the “conspiracy” against her. Myanmar: Prejudice and a bit of…

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Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

…age. His 2012 book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar, has sold widely. Over the phone, I asked Rinzler why he and Burrows had chosen to establish the studio as a for-profit company. “We really wanted to make sure we had all the resources we need for supporting people who are trying meditation for the first time,” Rinzler explained. Because they’re a business, there’s more professionalism. The teachers they’ve hired show up on time, and, as Rinzler put…

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