Religion Dispatches
…nt for that stroller? I asked. Ten dollars he said. I’ll take it. I love a bargain at the end of the bargain day! Maybe I won’t have the same resistance when I push him for the walk, but then maybe I can get to my goal faster too. I did the math. In order to make seven runs between the hills of Safa and Marwa, it would total about three and a half miles. I used to walk four miles in an hour, so from here I need to do two things: get to the full le…
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…it to thrive. The Church has flourished here because it has made the same bargain all other religious organizations in the U.S. have made. In order to receive the many protections and advantages afforded to faith groups by law, it has agreed to conduct itself not as the one true faith, but as one among many. Having made this bargain, the Church has been influenced and enriched by the faiths around it, and must at times accommodate those with whom…
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…tt Walker and others are trying to strip public unions of their collective bargaining power. This debate is not about trying to balance state budgets. This debate is about the future of American labor. Contrary to what current rhetoric might have us believe, union pension funds are not bankrupting state governments. Pensions cost, on average, less than four percent of state budgets. As long as the economy remained stable, pension investments grew…
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…ttends Restore Community Church, a non-denominational Protestant church in Kansas City, Missouri, reported that fellow churchgoers took the change in stride, understanding their short-term sacrifice in terms of their belief in “loving your neighbor.” His family’s religious routines have moved online, including Sunday worship, Bible study, and youth groups. So many believers have rearranged their practice that the Center for the Study of Religion i…
Read More…’t you give us a little bit of the background on your August speech to the City Council? What was the resolution, and how did you decide to take the approach you did? As you can imagine in a city such as Springfield (located in the heart of the Bible Belt with several religiously-affiliated schools and universities), any ordinance that seeks to affirm gays and lesbians and secure equal protections for their rights is going to come under all kinds…
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…nstitutions and spiritual movements need money. I’ve paid for High Holiday tickets, passed the plate at church, and dropped bills into the basket at yoga class. But Osho’s opacity and its denial of the obvious (robes and shampoos, wine and brownies, books and videos were all moneymakers) bothered me. My fuming was worthless. Orientation still started 45 minutes late. My students and I, packed into a classroom with 20 other guests, were led through…
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…I fervently wish that Mr. Obama would say a bit more about the problem of cheap grace. Reminding us that people who work very hard for very little are not the abusers of cheap grace, but that others in well-feathered nests who are preaching sacrifice might be in real trouble on the cheap grace front. Obama cannot and should not condemn those in the electorate who buy into Romney’s “there will be showers of blessing” message, but he probably does …
Read More…es ECI’s leadership – knows this to be the case. Which makes ECI’s video a cheap lie — yet another in a long litany of desperate efforts by the far right to convert the largely liberal American Jewish community to neo-conservatism, hawkish policies on Israel, and the belief that “Barack Hussein Obama” is a Muslim. That said, there actually are two interesting forms of antisemitism going on here. First is the antisemitism of ECI itself. To tug at…
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…ans would be attracted to, appreciate and consider careers in science (the number is decreasing annually). I bet we’d have more productive conversation among students and leaders of science and religion around the many profound issues in our nation that engage both: abortion, medical care, stem cells, homosexuality, and genomic research. The battle rhetoric would fade and, more than likely, movies like Expelled wouldn’t be made in the first place….
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…orthodox religions—mesmerism, spiritualism and the like. Because New York City has long been a magnet for those seeking access to hidden forces, or to reveal them. Whether we believe in it or not, there’s no denying that magic runs through the history of New York City like one of those freshwater springs beneath the Manhattan asphalt. Kevin Dann’s new book, Enchanted New York: A Journey Along Broadway Though Manhattan’s Magical Past, looks to bri…
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