Religion Dispatches
…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…anticipate Philip Clayton’s subsequent columns on specific case studies of the current state of the Religion-and-Science divide, and would welcome further the Aesthetic realm in these debates….
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…y true”). Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, these very welcome props to Mildred Loving and her husband Richard are deeply, abidingly, and intrinsically progressive values. They are the values of those whose sense of justice transcends the tunnel vision of time; of those who have both the vision to question received wisdom and the guts to express it. The argument that acceptance of gay marriage might (or would necessarily) lead…
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…n into the denomination’s approach to handling sexual abuse is certainly a welcome intervention, there’s no indication that they’re ready to to address problematic theological stances that blur the line between submission and control and that continue to put the onus on women to manage men’s “insatiable” sex drives. From its hard-line posture toward divorce to its confusing vision of male headship, the SBC’s conservative evangelical theology of ge…
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…, as with the many individual Catholic parishes that are explicit in their welcome to LGBTQ people, Rios says that at his church, “we accept everyone, appreciate everyone, and affirm everyone.” He acknowledges that Adventism has conservative values, but that it “doesn’t stop me or my congregation from loving everyone,” which was part of his call to minister at the vigil. In the days since the fire, the names and stories of the dead have continued…
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…est in immigration reform as a play for more members. “Do not be afraid to welcome them,” Francis told the bishops. “Offer them the warmth of the love of Christ and you will unlock the mystery of their heart. I am certain that, as so often in the past, these people will enrich America and its Church.” Critics of the church’s stance on immigration—and indeed, even some bishops—may hear “enrich” as filling the offering plate. But Pope Francis the pa…
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…’s easier for the young to push for a total transformation—that they have “less to lose.” My thought is that anyone, of any age, who looks honestly at the way we live now will welcome a decisive break. We as a whole people have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, on the road to beloved community….
Read More…d I don’t expect it to; neither do I aim to transform the entire field of surgery. But I do wish to provide a different vision for how surgery can be practiced, and I have learned that many patients welcome such an approach. One last thought—the Navajo culture is a matriarchal society, so if you hear the values of women in these discussions it is not your imagination!…
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…right to compromise with sin.” “We cannot and will not remain silent when promoted sin is corrupting the human soul and body,” the bishop wrote, saying it was especially inappropriate for the event to take place during Lent. The bishop also emphasized “that we do not bless our faithful to take part in any protests” and urged against temptation “to aggression or condemnation of others.” (English via Google translate) Event organizers released a st…
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…tal health system in which diverse forms of spirituality are respected and welcomed. Unfortunately, we’ve heard way too many personal accounts of clients whose spiritual experiences have been denigrated as just another symptom, or whose requests for spiritual referrals have been disregarded. How would you define spirituality in relationship to individuals and communities mental health needs and concerns? LM: I wouldn’t distinguish mental health fr…
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