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Is Christianity Simply About God Entering the Uterus of a Jewish Virgin?

Just the other day, a friend forwarded me a mass-mailed promotion for Free Inquiry magazine (a publication in which, incidentally, I had an article published a couple of years ago). The brochure was emblazoned with the following warning: “If you wish to avoid spending eternity roasting in HELL, do not open and read this brochure.” Having no fear of hell, I opened it and fished for what my friend said would be inside: a note from Richard Dawkins e…

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Racial Justice and Queer Masculinity: The Gospel of Frank Ocean

…urated in darkness, incapable of recognizing even the smallest bit of Good News. A new name becomes a hashtag of protest and mourning all too frequently; Christian orthodoxy and heteronormativity have become synonymous; a maniacal Oompa Loompa is plundering his way to Pennsylvania Avenue. Nonetheless, I remain the stereotypical “Boys Don’t Cry” guy. Instead, I prefer pure, untitled, unmastered rage. The paradox and profound challenge of Ocean’s al…

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The Cynical Use of “Freedom of Religion”

…In 1954, Senator Lyndon Johnson presented an amendment to Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3), which was subsequently adopted by Congress. The amendment defined nonprofit tax-exempt entities—including churches—as those “which [do] not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” During the recent election cycle, the…

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Catholic Bishops Meeting For Family Synod; South Africa’s Dutch Reformed Church OKs Gay Weddings, Ordination; Court in Malaysia Deals Setback To Transgender Advocates; Global LGBT Recap

…of personal needs, sexual orientation and identity were not covered in the new code. Even for civil society organizations, sexual orientation and identity are afterthoughts. Every Syrian is assumed to be heterosexual. The LGBT refugees that I’m in touch with are not very keen on being with other Syrians. They experience oppression and aggression from both Turkish and Syrian societies. Different forms of discrimination are not experienced in clear-…

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What’s Behind a Conservative Mormon’s Call For “Religious Freedom” Advocates to “Stand Down” on LGBT Rights

…ptance of legal equality? And, more crucially, what are the limits of this newly articulated tolerance? “Holy cow… we can’t repeal the fall of man” As it turns out, Mero’s call for religion to get out of public politics extends to his own hesitance to prescribe specific policy solutions to the current stalemate between “religious freedom” and LGBT rights. During a two-hour conversation with RD, Mero repeatedly sidestepped requests to clearly ident…

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Soccer and the Sublime in the Shadow of Apartheid

…also be pedestrian, taking place year-round on every continent, every zip code. It is a game, proven by its global appeal, which defies socioeconomic standing. Therein lies further emphasis of the World Cup’s importance, too: the world stage. Marxism has long been called the world’s secular religion, but a football fan knows economic ideology pales in comparison to the world’s devotion to football. John Carlin of Time magazine is right when he sa…

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Op-Ed: The Real Muslims?

…t past (when petrodollars were for many the only source of funding for the new community’s infrastructure and institutions, and before the widespread disillusionment in the 1990s with the Wahhabi or quasi-Wahhabi indoctrination that could accompany this largesse) equally debatable and ahistoric doctrinal commitments were foisted within Muslim organizations. Not so long ago, seemingly universal and inclusive labels like Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l Jama’ah,…

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“Traditional” Marriage or a Break with Tradition?

…sent took the traditional acceptance of private agreement to marriage to a new level, requiring the Church to support the validity of a marriage even if the parents had not given permission. If a man and woman claimed they had exchanged marital vows—out by the haystack or behind the stable, without any witnesses—then they were validly married in the eyes of the Church, unless they were slaves or non-believers. In 1215, the Church decreed that a “l…

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Only Fetuses and Popes are Worthy

…e men from murdering women or to send a moral message. In the 1983 Revised Code of Canon Law, only two groups are protected. A Catholic may incur automatic excommunication if he or she attempts to assassinate the Pope (you don’t even need to succeed, just trying is enough) or if one successfully procures an abortion. Only fetuses and popes are worthy of consideration. The rest of us are on our own. Perhaps most cruel in the Brazilian case is the f…

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Why Aqua Buddha Ad Failed to Harm Rand Paul

…slavery.) And what about secret paganistic societies with odd behind-closed-doors rituals? That too is classic Americana—just as American as the Freemasons. What really breaks the good Christian folks code of conduct is not engaging in questionable behavior but rather exposing the indiscretions of other good Christian folks, especially after they get established and powerful….

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