Religion Dispatches
…ble in the current climate. One of the most heated moments took place when Phil Zuckerman, a sociologist at Pitzer College and a founder of the school’s new major in Secular Studies, took issue with Berlinerblau’s criticism of Michael Newdow, the activist best known for his unsuccessful attempts to have “under God” in the pledge of allegiance declared unconstitutional. One person’s annoying and counterproductive gadfly is another person’s hero. Zu…
Read MoreThe Hill reports that Republican Congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia walked out of the president’s speech to the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday. Said his spokesperson: “He was disturbed and offended by the president’s use of prayer and reflection time for partisan politics and class warfare,” [Jen] Talaber said. “Rep. Gingrey enjoyed listening to the keynote speaker and found the breakfast to be inspiring until President Obama began politick…
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…duped into believing that HB 1523 protected religious freedoms”), Governor Phil Bryant followed through on his long-standing promise to do so no matter what. In a district court filing, Governor Bryant said he didn’t think Judge Carlton Reeves’ ruling would hold because a) none of the plaintiffs suing over the law had standing to do so and b) HB 1523 is totally constitutional. According to Judge Reeves, the law, which would have shielded individua…
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…red over his reflective sunglasses at bandmates Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh. They squinted back at him and at each other, and in turn sought the crowd’s unspoken input as the music followed a tune played by a harp unstrung to a destination sensed intensely yet unknown…. Caminante, son tus huellas el camino, y nada más; caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. Traveler, the only road Is your footsteps, and nothing more; Traveler,…
Read More…n extremism couldn’t get any more, well, extreme. Earlier this month, Rep. Phil Jensen, a South Dakota Republican lawmaker, had proposed an amendment to a bill to expand the legal definition of justifiable homicide by adding language that said a homicide is permissible if committed by a person while resisting an attempt to harm that person’s “unborn child or the unborn child of that person’s spouse, partner, parent, or child.” Last week, the bill,…
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…, it’s still there on my right wrist. In my early 20s, I ended up seeing a number of Dead shows, including Jerry’s penultimate performance at Soldier Field on July 8, 1995. (I still haven’t quite forgiven myself for not going the next night. But when you’re 24 years old, you never expect any time to be the last time.) The next night, July 9, 1995, the band performed “Box of Rain”during the final encore—the last song the Dead performed with Garcia—…
Read More…ation of at least six magistrates, North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger stated last week his intent to introduce a bill that would protect the jobs of public employees who refuse to issue marriage licenses or officiate same-sex weddings out of religious conviction. Although the details of the bill aren’t yet hammered down, Berger has stated, “The court’s expansion of the freedoms of some should not violate the well-recognized consti…
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…h buildings, starting right around the same time. Talk about luxury on the cheap; it’s hard to deny a feeling of similarity. (The tower is to the Burj as a certain toupee is to hair: might the Trump Tower inadvertently mimic an Islamic motif?) The regal twin palm trees in the foreground are the world’s tallest, at some 3,500 feet each. Recently a falling coconut crushed an entire apartment complex, punching a massive hole that has filled up with…
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…han-Thou Evangelicalism, conservative pastor and John MacArthur colleague, Phil Johnson laments how some evangelicals are getting on board with “doctrines borrowed from Black Liberation Theology, Critical Race Theory, Intersectional Feminism, and other ideologies that are currently stylish in the left-leaning secular academy.” He argues that in trying to make church “cool,” these leaders “strive for postmodern political correctness” and that “race…
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…good move. When I got to the lobby another something told me to dig out my phone and check it for messages. Sure enough, I had one from an unfamiliar number. A woman’s voice said Bedi was still sleeping, exhausted from the previous day’s overseas flight, and needed to reschedule our interview for that afternoon. I called the number back, convinced the opportunity was lost. “I’m here at the hotel now, but I’m booked solid this afternoon—” “Hold on,…
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