Religion Dispatches
…erence for our Savior, show clips of them. All of us can tolerate and even welcome discussion over religious differences. But when it comes to mocking the Person Christians believe was God in the flesh, the Savior of the world, under the guise of humor, we’re compelled to speak out. We ask that you please email Comedy Central’s parent company Viacom, and kindly ask them to not allow this show to make it onto their schedule. I never thought I would…
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…source for pastoral agendas, describing resident aliens as vulnerable and promoting a moral responsibility toward them. The concern for the survival of the vulnerable and the love of strangers found within this tradition make a significant starting point for an immigrant-friendly position. The gospels can be quoted in a similar manner. Matthew 25 is most-often cited as the foundation of compassion towards the immigrant, in particular when Jesus e…
Read More…the invitation of Cardinal Turkson of Ghana, perhaps the next Pope, was a welcome surprise to her. Klein approaches the climate crisis morally; the Pope approaches them sacramentally. The two foundations need each other, or so I learned in seminary. Klein listens well to what happened in Copenhagen. The African nations walked out en mass. They were chanting, “2% is mass suicide. We will not die quietly.” She seems to actually care about the neigh…
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…tholic feminists worked the center aisle to assure everyone that they were welcome to receive Communion: “Marge would want you to do so” was their message. Many did. William Sloan Coffin, a well-known Protestant pastor found his way to the Communion line. The Presbyterian clergy colleague on my left and the Catholic pro-choice leader on my right went up the center aisle for Communion. No bells sounded, no lights flickered, no one was struck off th…
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…porally and geographically proximate. It’s time to demystify the field and welcome a variety of students and scholars, crediting heterogenous knowledges and experiences as entry-points. External funding is another way that “Jewishness” is presumed to be contiguous with Jewish Studies. Others note how this subsidizes research advancing ideological agendas, as with Jewish continuity and Israel/Palestine. We need to collectively reappraise the histor…
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…“good” in the eyes of a watching world. “Come as you are” and “Everyone is welcome!” are great examples that sound nice and allow us to avoid being accused of what we’re “against,” but again, they’re often simply untrue. In reality, these empty platitudes usually mean: “You can totally come to Sunday Services and give us money. But if you identify as LGBTQ, forget about working here or being affirmed. Oh, and if you’re a woman, you can’t lead or t…
Read More…edom of religion.” Which completely misses the point. Fotusky is certainly welcome to believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, but in her job she has sworn to uphold the law, whether she likes it or not. She said her resignation was not a protest against the new law, but it begs the question that if her convictions about the sanctity (or “sacrament,” as Centi believes) of marriage is so complete, has she also refused to sign the cer…
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…cow Synod is explicitly tying its decision to create the new exarchate and welcome these clergy to the Patriarch of Alexandria’s decision to acknowledge the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Now that the conflict has moved to Africa, its political implications have become even more stark. The Orthodox Church in Africa is neither wealthy nor large. With the exception of some significant Greek communities in Egypt and South Africa (who…
Read More…ting federal hate crimes laws comes too late from my friend’s son – but is welcome future protection for our community. Those on the religious right, however, have been sounding the alarms over the measure for months, claiming it will “silence” the Christians who want to preach against homosexuality as a “sin.” Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council called the legislation a “thought-crimes bill” that would give “special rights” to homosexuals…
Read More…ul to their God. That might feel like a small victory, but it does provide welcome legal affirmation of the broad scientific consensus that LGBTQ people do not need to be (and indeed, cannot be) “cured.” It also offers a clear signal to other states considering bans on conversion therapy that they are on solid legal footing. Most crucially, it signals to those religious adherents who would hope to deny the humanity of their LGBTQ neighbors (or chi…
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