Religion Dispatches
…n Muslims is “not what the [Republican] Party stands for.” While it is the Republican Party’s responsibility to extend this critique into unequivocal opposition to Trump’s bid for presidency, the ban on Muslim rhetoric only feeds into the Islamophobic words and acts we see all over the country. From the death threat calls and messages to Islamic community centers and mosques, to a string of violent acts of hate—including a 6th grade Muslim-America…
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…he Meaning of Life Paul Froese Oxford University Press (January 6, 2016) I participate in this tradition. Every January, I hold my life out in front of me and think about which elements I want to swap out or in. This mode of thinking progresses towards the abstract. Concrete resolutions give way to the big goals: Happiness, Purpose, and Meaningful Relationships. Once a year, Oprah makes sense to me. This process confused me until I read Paul Froes…
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…thinking about how people’s “strong” and “weak” strivings inform how they participate in religion. The 16 desires are shared by everybody. We all want the same things from life. We would all rather understand than be confused. We would all rather be praised than criticized. We would all rather have safety than feel anxious. While we all want the same things, we don’t value them to the same degree. Some people value safety above all else, and they…
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…tes a Jesus narrative to carry the Jewish Christians from Rosh Hashanah to Passover. The reason Matthew wanted to expand Mark was that he wanted Jesus stories for the whole year so he has another five and a half months to cover. One of the crucial insights is that because Matthew can’t hold off the baptism of Jesus until Rosh Hashanah where Mark introduces it, he has to do it at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry because he can’t tell his story if h…
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…rprised to find that around a dozen other travelers—mostly Europeans and Japanese—sat patiently in chairs, waiting to find out whether there might be room for them as well. I wondered how we had managed to get a room while all these other people waited. As if sensing my question, and after checking us in, the Hindu proprietor took us aside and quietly told us that he had detected our American accents on the phone, and had given us the room instead…
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…rick was wrestling with his prophetic vocation even when he was recording TPAB. I don’t think it’s an accident though that tracks from UU didn’t make it on TPAB. Usually a prophecy comes before a lament—e.g. first the Book of Jeremiah then the Book of Lamentations.) What I want to do here is suss out a comparison between the life, times, and texts of the prophet Jeremiah and Kendrick Lamar. Jeremiah was a prophet tasked with guiding the people thr…
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…ent, and describe the dissension that appears to be tearing the Republican Party apart, between “establishment conservatives” and younger, more radical voices. But what’s neat about these essays is also that they offer us a window into how the authors see other identities, including my own. There are several mentions of Islam or Muslims in Bokhari and Yiannopoulos’ essay, two of which I quote here because of the deeper meaning revealed by these in…
Read More…y, or for a clear statement that LGBT people and supporters are welcome to participate in the Church’s sacramental life and ministries.” At the Washington Post, Anthony Faiola and Michelle Boorstein highlighted the pope’s urging that the clergy not wield “moral laws” like a weapon. More than anything, it amounted to an exaltation of traditional marriage while recognizing that life, in his own words, is not always “perfect.” Yet rather than judging…
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…A software engineer from Singapore, Tan joined Google in 2000 as employee number 107. He later founded the company’s in-house meditation program and became one of corporate mindfulness’ most visible advocates. Though Tan left Google six months ago, his final official job title at the company still doubles as his nickname: Jolly Good Fellow. Over the course of two phone conversations, RD asked Tan—who was, in fact, quite jolly—if mindfulness is a…
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…se ‘New Pariahs’ are forced into acts of desperation—whether it be through participating in black market activity, defending territory, or refusing to cooperate with authorities—that result in stigma and alienation. In the Tamar story what is understood as righteous is completely upended and re-defined. Righteousness is not just what doctrine or dogma one adheres to, righteousness is the work that one does to make one right before God. Righteousne…
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