Religion Dispatches
…God’s name in vain. But, the Bible, while condemning all forms of sex that use or abuse one another, clearly states that anyone who has love, has God (1 John 4:7). The “liberal theology” of welcoming all of God’s children in love into God’s realm cleaves as close to biblical edict as any conservative theology could ever aspire to do. Instead of taking potshots across the bow at one another, though, I often wish liberals and conservatives could joi…
Read More…he ensuing “backlash” from voters. “A good number of them are afraid of—to use a terrible metaphor—getting into the crosshairs of the NRA and losing their next primary or election.” The NRA, he said, “is creating a taboo in our culture. Thou shalt not speak of gun regulation. That’s preposterous.” Describing the organization as an “ingenious” political organization, Schenck also criticized how it uses “fear and anger” as a fundraising tool. “I’d l…
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…, agency and voice. The Handmaid’s Tale series feels so relevant today because it focuses on the experiences of a woman living under an oppressive regime. When reproductive rights activists in Texas and Missouri staged protests wearing handmaid’s costumes, it was a chilling statement that the Gilead regime does not seem far-fetched but frighteningly familiar. Patricia Miller: I think it’s important to note that Atwood said she didn’t put anything…
Read More…insights into the relationship between nature and divinity. Bishop Curry’s use of Teilhard’s vision of “fire” at the Royal Wedding comes largely from The Mass on the World, completed in 1923! Sadly, it also seems indisputable that the mature formulations of some of Teilhard’s most famous ideas—e.g., the Noosphere, the Omega Point, the divinization of the species—rest upon philosophies infused with conceptions of eugenics, racial superiority, steri…
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…rchasing power and capital goods orders. While conservatives frequently accused these programs of being useless “make-work,” a waste of taxpayers’ money, the reality is just the opposite. Useful work which would not otherwise have been done literally changed the face of the country and provided a lasting legacy. Workers built and repaired 1 million miles of roads and 200,000 public facilities—including schools, playgrounds, courthouses, parks and…
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…an exaggeration, but the important point is that it isn’t innocuous. It causes the heart to become calloused and creates deep chasms between individuals that can only be crossed with self-reflection, because, as Smith states, “A child’s personality grows by reaching out to others, by feeling identified with them, by acknowledging the common dignity of all men.” Calls for education reform and “protecting” children reside at the core of Christian n…
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…e much more inclined to think. And I put these articles out there just because I think it helps broaden my sense of spirituality, because there is a sense of spirituality even in my secularism. It just happens to be very science-fictiony, it’s very far-fetched. I’m not interested in discussing Jesus. I’m interested in discussing why super intelligence might want to have nothing to do with us, except let us run through systems and algorithms for an…
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…ied of past events or illnesses, spiritual or physical. The sweat lodge is used in Native American substance abuse treatment programs and has been an integral part of ceremonies of spiritual cleansing of returning veterans dating back to the time of wars with the United States. Many tribes believe that participation in wars and battles cause the dead the cling to the soul of the combatants and must be released to the next world through a process o…
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…This even extends to contraception. Many pro-life people believe that the use of hormonal contraception and IUDs is incompatible with a view that life begins at conception, because of potential abortifacient effects. This view is by no means universal, but it’s common enough that it’s a fair question to ask whether personhood is incompatible with the Pill. If the pro-life movement can’t agree even amongst itself, how are women supposed to be able…
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…publications themselves would make clear that a Catholic hospital can even use methotrexate (a drug that can cause an abortion once pregnancy has been established in the uterus) could be sued to treat an ecotopic pregnancy where its mode of action is different and indirect. It has been determined that Methotrexate attacks the DNA in the trophoblastic tissue, not the embryo. Thus its use in ectopic pregnancies is not a direct abortion and is theref…
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