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Conservative Christian Teenagers Prepare for Politics

By Robert Kunzman

…e, and even within the conservative Christian subset, a wide variety of philosophies, methods, and outcomes exists. One core characteristic, however, stands out: the fundamental conviction of parents that educating their children is a God-given right and responsibility, and one they can delegate only at great moral and spiritual peril. For conservative Christians, homeschooling is a shaping not only of intellect but—even more crucially—of characte…

Gay, Christian, Pagan, Artist: How Matt Morris Defies the Borders of Spiritual Identity

By Jesse James DeConto

…feel like I was called back to the Church. I feel like I was called to a closer relationship with God and to a deeper awareness of God’s presence. Living that out in a church community was a choice that I made. But you don’t have to engage in our current expression of church in order to do that. Plenty of people don’t. What was that church ministry experience like for you? That’s still a little close for me to talk about it. But I do feel comfort…

Sometimes You Can’t Say a Word

By Jonathan L. Walton

…t of Martin Luther King’s assassination fielded celebratory calls as a telephone operator in Memphis, Tennessee, telephoned us to awake my four-year-old twins from their sleep. Through her sniffles and giggles, this loving grandmother and now proud American citizen, kept repeating, “you tell those babies Obama did it! Obama did it! Wake them up and let them know that “O’RockoBama” [my son’s pronunciation] really did win tonight!” And I also receiv…

Gen X, Gadgets, and God

By Elizabeth Drescher

…e throughout his life. And, he was really digging all the apps on his new iPhone. So, eventually, he created an app that would provide “Biblical guidance to your everyday ups and downs.” With it, users select from a scrolling list of “blessings” (friendship, new home) or “burdens” (anger, money), shake the phone, and get a Bible verse to guide reflection in the course of daily life. What is cool about apps like the Holy Roller is not, however, jus…

Republicans in Favor of Reproductive Rights

By Katie Toth

…gauge true sentiment on the issue of choice,” she says. “These labels have lost their meaning.” In a Gallup poll earlier this year, 72 percent of Republicans and 50 percent of the general population identified as “pro-life”; the number of Americans who identified as “pro-choice” hit a record low. But respondents’ opinions on policy issues around abortion had not drastically changed from previous years. Just over half of Americans think abortion sh…

Good Mourning Modeled by Chaplains and Clergy at the Oakland Ghost Ship Fire

By Kaya Oakes

…as drunk, which was the only way she could handle getting up behind a microphone. God was barely mentioned. When asked about the secular nature of the vigil and why he agreed to participate, Rios responded that “it is always the responsibility of clergy to act in moments of disaster, regardless of the secular tone and style.” Throughout the vigil, he said, “[I] kept thinking of Jesus and where this radical Rabbi was in moments of disaster. I kept…

Thomas Jefferson’s Bible Rejected the Supernatural Jesus in Response to the ‘Stupidity’ of Those Who Deified Him

By Gordon Haber

…and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Jefferson made a previous version, The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth. The subtitle says that it was “for the use of the Indians” but there’s nothing anywhere else to support that intention. Here’s the full title of the earlier book: The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth: extracted from the account of his life and doctrines as given by Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John. Being an abridgement of the New Testament for the us…

The ‘Evolving’ Story of Teacher Who Burned Cross into Student’s Arm

By Lauri Lebo

…me home from school with the mark of a cross burned into his arm seems no closer to a resolution. Meanwhile, the Mount Vernon School District is a divided community in this rural section of south-central Ohio. And John Freshwater, the 8th-grade science teacher who admitted to using an electrostatic device known as a Tesla coil on Zachary Dennis’ arm, remains a polarizing figure at the center of the fray. Despite the case’s layered subtexts much of…

Dear Scientists: Please Stop Bashing Free Will!

By John Horgan

…athematics exam. Others were less likely to let a classmate use their cell phone. “Some philosophical analyses may conclude that a fatalistic determinism is compatible with highly ethical behavior,” the psychologist Jesse Bering comments in an article on these studies, “but the present results suggest that many laypersons do not yet appreciate that possibility.” Theologians have proposed that science still allows faith in a “God of the gaps,” who…

‘The Quiet Damage’ Details the Heartbreaking Effect of QAnon on Five American Families — But Critical Questions Linger

By Susannah Crockford

…ve of QAnon adherents themselves, while others feature the perspective of close family members. In both cases Cook aims to humanize them and restore their dignity. By paying close attention to the journey, these family-based narratives describe how one member got to the point where QAnon actually begins to make sense. The importance of social relationships and trust in building believability is emphasized—how people hear from it via friends or inf…