Religion Dispatches
…th compassion; to recognize the real pain and discomfort of others; and to welcome them with open arms into the shared project of finding freedom, justice, and power together. That, as I always say, does not mean surrendering core principles or compromising them away. The truth, after all, is the truth. But I would love to see a sign at the next health care town hall meeting declaring WE SHARE YOUR PAIN AND WE NEED YOUR HELP. I would love to see B…
Read More
…the positive role of religion in the public sphere—as Jews, they are more welcome than ever. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the idea of Jews finding a place for themselves in such spaces. Especially in the United States, where Jews are frequently stereotyped for their liberalism (witness how often Israeli conservatives complain that US Jews don’t sufficiently appreciate the value of Republicans to Israel’s security and well-being); the…
Read More…[Editor’s Note: After this post went up I received an email from Focus on the Family’s newsletter, Citizenlink, telling the story of a woman whose former wife is seeking custody of their daughter, Isabella. Citizenlink…
Read More
…boredom? I wonder. Needless to say, to the extent that longevity research promotes ways to alleviate the suffering caused by debilitating diseases such as Altzheimer and Parkinson, they are all very beneficial. However, I also believe that all programs about extension of human life cannot be divorced from the deeper reflection about the purpose of human life. Such reflection seems to be missing from the transhumanist literature. One could object…
Read More
…have nowhere to turn for help in case of state persecution; some of these welcome the patronage of politicians. Others still refuse to buy into the dualism of sacred versus secular, preferring instead to see God as fully invested in humanity’s full experience—these consider democracy an arena in which they can be the salt of the earth and light to the world and the leaders have worked, among other things, to reconcile bitter enemies or to oppose…
Read More
…ate title would you give the book? I often joked that the title should be “Welcome to Insane World” because none of the pieces fit neatly together: “Darwinist”-spouting teachers were preachers’ kids; the “atheist” plaintiffs taught Sunday school; the “activist” judge was a Bush-appointed Republican; and the people labeled “liars” were willing to go to jail for the truth. How do you feel about the cover? We had originally chosen a different photogr…
Read More
…miracles begin. If this seems strangely, elusively, and creepily enticing, welcome to the world of an apostolic movement sweeping the globe with its claims of prophecy direct from God, supernatural revivals and healings, and a quest to mold young people for God’s kingdom by enforced sexual purity, 24/7 prayer, repentance, and fasting. God TV, which acts both as a player in the movement and its gigantic PR machine, beams its programming (which ofte…
Read More
…tually becomes neo-liberal economics. The Reformation was a product of and promoted a communications revolution in terms of print. Conservative Protestants have always been the first to understand the significance of new technologies. I think the reason for that is the Protestant preoccupation with the Word, and they get the Word out however they can. For a long time it was print. In the early 20th century it was radio. By the forties it was telev…
Read More
…community are alive and one day they will tell us about their experiences, unlike the children who died at Mount Carmel. Comments? We enthusiastically welcome any response to this story, or to any of our features. Write to us!…
Read More…resa Kane, then president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, welcomed Pope John Paul II to a gathering of nuns held in the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington DC. Her gentle and generous welcome caused a stir because she dared to mention, albeit with deep respect, that the other half of the church (read: women) wants to be involved in all of its ministries. Her implicit reference to the ban on the ordination of women and wo…
Read More