Religion Dispatches
…beliefs), practices, history, culture, and much more. Instead, he reduced a 1400-year-old religion with well over a billion adherents to a handful of verses cherry-picked from the Qur’an. A central component of the systematic demonization is his caricature of Muslims and Muhammad as illiterate, perverted, sexist, and responsible for slavery. Federer repeatedly described Muhammad as illiterate, suggesting he was ignorant and making no mention of th…
Read More…ll of its killing reflects the brokenness of our world. That is the proper spirit with which to greet this news. And, in a move in which he unmistakably distances himself from the saber-rattling of many of his more apocalyptically-minded fellow evangelicals, Gushee goes on: We also now have the opportunity for national reflection on how our broader military and foreign policies—including the placement of our troops throughout the largely Muslim Ar…
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…“I’m so proud of you.” Attempting to unravel the mystery of how my mother managed to have attracted such “fans” (through her many books) and who she really was (and is)—a life-embracing free spirit—nagged me into writing this book. Like many evangelicals, mom was a better person than her theology warranted. Through her I wanted to explore why the “worse” a person is, in terms of consistency to their fundamentalist faith, the better a human being…
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…nited Nations are as American as apple pie: they are to some extent in the spirit of a diverse range of American voices that led to the pioneering Endangered Species Act of 1973 signed into law by Richard Nixon. Yet today, those who call themselves conservative are generally hostile to environmentalists, often considering them to be politically or spiritually dangerous socialists or pagans. Unless one is beholden to an absolute truth (only a pure…
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…ent news cycle of political protests started out on a hopeful note. As the spirit of frustrated youthful protest spread at tweet speed to dictatorial regimes and elitist monarchies, journalists flocked to North Africa and the modern day Holy Land. Live coverage has shifted from country to country, depending in large part on where the most violence is erupting. Yet, as much as the story may be promoted as one of hope and liberation, the hook is all…
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…failing was my inability to memorize the 23rd Psalm.) Bageant is a kindred spirit for those of us who have turned from our religious upbringing, but still, for reasons he articulates so sweetly, are forever being drawn back to it on some level. After an appropriate period of trembling, which seemed like forever but was probably about five minutes, I emerged cautiously from the cloakroom. Mrs Roach let me stand there while the rest of the Bible Sch…
Read More…t by the Church distance itself from the hard-line tactics instituted by SB 1070 author Russell Pearce (R), who is LDS. Last summer, Latino Mormons in Arizona publicly raised their voices to decry SB 1070 as a contradiction to core tenets of the faith, including the Mormon emphasis on the sanctity of the family. Some sources credit the large number of LDS men and women who have served missions in Latin America with creating greater empathy among U…
Read More…and another witness who said his nephew was radicalized: Their courage and spirit will put a human face on the horror which Islamist radicalization has inflicted and will continue to inflict on good families, especially those in the Muslim community, unless we put aside political correctness and define who our enemy truly is. I’m not holding my breath on a correction from him. UPDATE: My coverage of the hearing is over at the Nation, in which I re…
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…ook place in Detroit, Michigan; the eponymous organization arose from that spirited event. WOC sponsored another meeting in 1978 in Baltimore where women were very specific about the kind of renewed priestly ministry they would accept: one without clericalism, without mandatory celibacy, without hierarchy, but with the inclusion of all and a focus on social justice. WOC became the go-to organization on these matters, holding subsequent meetings an…
Read More…y and the Gift of Gay.” “Flute Solo” had been in informal circulation since 1973 when it was written. Thus, he was 58 years old when he made public this affirmation of faith. On closer reading, I note that you had pegged this “coming out” at ninety. One might argue that this earlier date is the more profound since, although he was a mature monk and priest, he had many years to go in service to his vocation (37, to be precise). What I most apprecia…
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