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Mother (Nature) Will Eat You: Lars von Trier’s Antichrist

By S. Brent Rodriguez Plate

…held cameras, rough edits that jar the viewers’ visual sensibilities, microphone booms that become visible in shots, and a precedence of minimalist staging, especially in Dogville and Manderlay—though both were striking in their lighting and set design. Antichrist alludes to these anti-beauty sentiments: There are a number of handheld shots, and some curious breaks with the 180-degree rule, but those are early on in the film and it becomes the con…

The Banality of Bernie

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…micro-managed by men with photographic memories who could describe, on the phone at long distance, where a file was located, and what page in that file needed scanning. There was obsessive record-keeping, coupled with a mastery of spin. (Squillari suggests that Madoff planted several pieces of evidence in his office in order to be arrested on his own timetable and on his own terms). The most haunting line in the article is a description of the sta…

Religion at Decade’s End

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…e eventual “conversion of the Jews” (I leave Benedict XVI’s perplexing and repeated anti-Jewish missteps to one side for now). The point is that religious persons of various persuasions now almost casually accept religious pluralism as a fact of modern life that will not go away. Many neo-traditional religious persons may still dream of some individual evangelical successes, but the whole orientation of religion worldwide has shifted in the face o…

It’s Barack v. the Bible, Says Barton

By Paul Harvey

…a’s auto-da-fé came not only in the comments section, but in nasty emails, phone calls, and demands for his firing from Messiah College. As he discovered, the culture wars are real, and practiced even on those (like Fea) who largely have been critical of Obama’s actual implementation of his promises about faith-based policies. More important than these blogosphere wars, however, is understanding something deeper about these screeds about Obama as…

As Long As There’s Fear, We Aren’t Ready for Atheism: A Conversation with Theologian and Ex-Priest Daniel Maguire

By Alana Massey

…to atheism than its more dismissive predecessors. RD spoke with Maguire by phone about his latest book and the future of belief. What was the impetus for undertaking this after a long career as a priest and theologian who was once a believer? I started out as the absolute true believer. I believed everything the Vatican taught. One of the things that helped me was working in a parish. I started to meet real people and to discover that some of the…

Global LGBT Recap: Culture War Claims More Victims

By Peter Montgomery

…vangelical activists have played in promoting anti-gay policies in Russia. Dominican Republic: Religious resistance to gay ambassador We reported last week on the response of some religious leaders in the Dominican Republic to the appointment of openly gay U.S. ambassador James “Wally” Brewster and his decision to meet with local LGBT activists along with his husband. Andrés Duque at Blabbeando reports on continued fallout. Victor Grimaldi, the Do…

Southern Baptist Convention Kicks Out Gay Attendees, Waffles on White Supremacists

By Sunnivie Brydum

…force us to leave,” Robertson concluded. “I felt the full weight of their fear, and where there is such fear, we can be certain that there is no possibility of love. Phone calls and an email inquiry to representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention were not returned….

Does the Science Show that Spirituality Will Benefit Your Child?

By Michael Schulson

…don’t involve Miller’s own research, and, despite the dubious sourcing, a number of Miller’s claims are persuasive. There is evidence—much of it from Miller’s own, peer-reviewed work—that self-reported spiritual experience lowers the risk for substance abuse, depression, and unprotected sex among adolescents. There’s also plenty of evidence that adolescents can use spiritual experiences and techniques to navigate emerging adulthood, a process Mil…

Madoff, Through a Glass, Darkly

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…n face on the Bernie Madoff saga. One of the most striking features of the reportage are all the family photographs. Each month’s installment is replete with new pictures of the Madoff family in happier times (who in God’s name gave them to the magazine? Friends? For money?…). These pictures have added weight, and create far greater confusion, today. The July installment finally raises the question that hovers over this family affair: did Madoff’s…

Pro-Choice, Progressive Jewish Groups Weigh In On Kagan

By Sarah Posner

….” In the statement, Saperstein called Kagan “a trailblazer with a stellar reputation,” and urged swift Senate action on the nomination. In addition, he noted that the RAC had worked with Kagan “on an array of religious freedom, civil rights, and women’s rights issues” when she served in the Clinton administration and “found in her someone passionate in her commitment to constitutional rights and wise in her strategic judgment.” UPDATE: Here is th…