Religion Dispatches
…on.” The median home value in the U.S. is $174,200. Not surprisingly, that list includes some of the nation’s most outspoken conservative bishops—and allies of the Republican Party—who seem to take the whole “prince of the church” thing more literally than some of their fellow prelates. Here’s a rundown: • New York Cardinal Timothy “Capitalism is King but you can get your birth control at 7-11” Dolan lives in a 15,000-square foot neo-Gothic mansio…
Read More…n in America. Early films like White Zombie (1932)––based on the sensationalistic writing of William Seabrook—presented Vodou as a sinister religion involving poison and mind control. When I ask my students to list their associations with Vodou, “scary” is the most common response. American fear and fascination with Vodou is also closely intertwined with issues of class and, especially, race. This matrix of associations is evident in the example o…
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…ssing a student’s educational details in the entire General Seminary email list. As a result of a limited response to these concerns voiced in a letter to GTS’ Board of Trustees and the Dean, the faculty members in question decided to stop working until they could meet with the board. In a letter dated September 25, 2014, the eight professors said that they would “discontinue teaching and performing all other academic and administrative obligation…
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…dexed by the time-lapse close ups of violence in the cage. The pastors who promote MMA describe it as a “sport” through which to recapture man’s “God given attributes” of “aggressiveness” and “competitiveness”; the “strength to stand up to evil, wickedness, and unrighteousness”; a “warrior ethos”; and, the ability to “be prepared in advance” for a “battle out there” against an “enemy” that is “trying to seek and destroy us.” While listening to suc…
Read More…astised by her teacher for saying, “Bless you.” (“Bless you” appeared on a list of words that were considered distracting or inappropriate for use in the classroom, alongside words like “boring” and “hang out.”) According to Turner, she was told that “Godly language” would not be tolerated in school and that her Constitutional rights didn’t apply in the classroom. When another student stepped in and told the teacher she couldn’t “trump God,” Turne…
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…aders get to the parts that talk about the music in depth, they can go and listen to it while they are reading. It is a pretty cool feature I think. What are some of the biggest misconceptions about your topic? That talking to the dead is somehow the same as seeing ghosts (and being haunted), or zombies! It is a funny thing how the moment you begin a conversation about the dead, people start making connections to ghosts and zombies. People who kno…
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…the charges of plagiarism, to his gaming of the New York Times Bestseller List, to his reputation as a hyper-masculine misogynist and homophobe with an authoritarian leadership style. [T]he scheme itself is part of an overall ethos that seeks to proselytize “by every means available.” What’s important, in other words, is that people hear “about Jesus”—however that might happen. Thus it was not surprising when Driscoll announced this past weekend…
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…o the public discourse via prominent public intellectuals, including journalist Peter Beinart, who led the way with his 2012 book The Crisis of Zionism, warning of drift away from and even hostility toward the establishment by young American Jews, and New York Times columnists Roger Cohen and Thomas Friedman, whose critiques are laced with laments over the decline, in Israel, of the liberal Zionism they grew up with and still cherish. Beinart now…
Read More…leaders have embraced Yunus despite their alliance with Islamic fundamentalist party Jamaat Islami and their broad disagreements with a pro-gay stance. In addition, the US government is reacting to Awami League’s rejection of Yunus by affiliating more closely with opposition leaders. Rather than an exemplar of the deep religious split in Bangladeshi society, Yunus effectively scrambles the division. Religion, in other words, has little to do with…
Read More…aneously maintain and subvert the rule. The Epstein case is obviously an extreme example, but I’d love to hear about others in the comments – maybe they’ll inspire a list of the most interesting ones in the near future. (But please, let’s not talk about the “Mormon Soak”)…
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