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Spiritual Envy: Michael Krasny’s Agnostic Quest

By Lisa Webster

…ht. When the play was first performed, one of the early productions was at San Quentin and those prisoners really related to it in a very deep and profound way. Because so many of us are in this kind of limbo, whether we’re behind bars or not; we’re waiting for something to happen in our lives. The Gestalt psychologists taught me the importance of being in the moment and thinking about just being in time. I felt it important to talk about being in…

Same-Sex Marriage: The Cure for Unemployment (Worries)

By Joanna Brooks

…alifornia, a lightly-populated, largely agricultural desert county east of San Diego, appeared as the only governmental entity in the state of California to seek standing as a proponent in the case to overturn Proposition 8. Whether or not the County has the standing to participate in the appeal is up to the panel of judges to determine. (Attorney Robert Tyler, appearing on behalf of Imperial County deputy clerk Isabel Vargas, proved himself embar…

Yo, Gays, Stop Bogarting that Rainbow!

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…sbians give up their grip on the rainbow. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse of the San Diego-based Ruth Institute [a project of the National Organization for Marriage] rightly argues that the rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with man, and she says proponents of Proposition 8—California’s measure that passed in 2008 to define marriage as between a man and a woman—are the original “rainbow coalition.” “Proposition 8 was passed by a great grassroots coali…

The Exorcist Files, Getting Mad at God, The Obama Prayer…

By Michael J. Altman

…n atheists. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found a war memorial cross in San Diego unconstitutional because it was a government endorsement of religion. The Army’s “spiritual fitness” test is coming under fire from church-state organizations who claim it is unconstitutional. Despite the new Republican majority in the House, the religious makeup of the 112th Congress is about the same as the previous one. Like the rest of the country, Congress ha…

Judgment Day is Coming; Wear Clean Underwear

By Lauri Lebo

…the World won’t be for another six months, according to Harold Camping, a San Francisco-area radio host and the owner of Family Radio. His web site, wecanknow.com, says that Oct. 21 will be the day “when He will destroy the world and all that is therein.” Camping’s followers around the country have been promoting the big day by putting up billboards and driving vehicles with placards. But this is not the first time Camping has predicted Judgment…

“Ex-Gay” is Anti-Gay, Disguised as Compassion

By Tanya Erzen

…e should come out of the closet. On an overcast day in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, reporters and protesters far outnumbered the ex-gay supporters in attendance. Jerry Falwell was scheduled to address the audience but at the last minute decided to appear via live telecast where his speech was drowned out by heckles and boos. Michael Johnston, an ex-gay who testified to a newfound heterosexuality after years of being homosexual, hurried out t…

Facebook Doesn’t Kill Churches, Churches Kill Churches

By Elizabeth Drescher

…s about the more narrow scope of active Facebook affiliations, despite the number of “friends” a person’s profile page might boast. With regard to churches, Beck reads the data as suggesting that Facebook and other social media are replacing what he believes is the “main draw of the traditional church: social connection and affiliation.” It’s an engaging argument. Beck is certainly right that church is no longer a central gathering place for the m…

Isaac Asimov’s Niece Covers the Rapture

By Lauri Lebo

It’s fitting that Nanette Asimov, a San Francisco Chronicle reporter and Isaac Asimov’s niece, covered the failing of the Rapture for her newspaper. She details the story of a man who drove across the country with his family from Maryland to celebrate the event in the empty parking lot of the Family Radio station in Oakland, California, where this whole ridiculousness began. There is no gloating, or smugness in Asimov’s words, only a simple recou…

Lesbian Nuns: Still Immodest After All These Years

By Susan Henking

…the vantage point of her retirement from Wesleyan as Professor Emerita. Susan Henking: As you know, I teach your 1986 book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy and am amazed that the 25th anniversary of its publication is already upon us. In some ways, given that you were writing about the 17th century, 25 years is just a moment. Yet, much has changed in our views of sex and sexuality in the intervening decades. How does…

Polygamist Warren Jeffs Convicted of Sexual Assault

By Anthea Butler

…5 year-old girls who were “spiritually married” to him. The trial, held in San Angelo, Texas, was short but disturbing, with audiotapes and photographs of Jeffs’ crimes presented to the jury. During the trial, Jeffs fired his defense team, and defended himself with rambling missives and an affidavit he claimed came from God. Often, he just sat in silence. The jury verdict came quickly after hearing particularly sordid testimony, including the test…