Religion Dispatches
…ts of terrorist violence—in Baghdad, Dacca, Istanbul, Paris, Brussels, and Orlando—to shore up its credibility as a global player and give the illusion of power. Its followers are taking credit for anything that might be construed as an ISIS-related assault. Branding a terrorist act has become as important as what motivates it. Even if it turns out that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel did in fact have some jihadi connections, the initial evidence is that his mo…
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This year, Father’s Day comes just a week after the Orlando tragedy—seven days of mourning, of national self-searching, and of urgent effort to understand how the Orlando shooter became who he was. I believe I have seen that same toxic mix of homophobia, militant right-wing religion, and self-hatred before. And I’ve seen it transformed by unflinching truth and wise love. While I was working on a doctorate in theology I volunteered in a high schoo…
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…on would staunchly oppose any freeze, a message he carried with him to the Orlando pulpit. What he said toward the end of his half-hour-long address (sentiments that, reportedly, were added by Reagan after speechwriters had given him the original text) made it one of his most influential and memorable (or infamous, depending on your perspective). He said in part: I urge you to speak out against those who would place the United States in a position…
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…will win. The other thing that happened in 2016 was the Pulse shooting in Orlando. And that was the first time queer and trans Muslims were an idea in the public consciousness. There’s just a big change in the way that we perceive our community and the way the outside world perceived us. And so it was like the one-two punch of Orlando—suddenly all cameras are on us—and then (the election) a few months later affirmed the thing that we’ve been sayi…
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…dos depict Jesus as a gay man who introduces his cross-dressing boyfriend, Orlando, to his family. Incongruities abound when Orlando, who wears massive amounts of makeup and a blonde wig, performs ‘Jingle Bells’ on a digital keyboard in Judea ca. 30 A.D., endearing himself to the holy family (and his relationship with Jesus).1 Of course, this is merely the nth iteration of the irreverent Jesus motif, with countless gay-Jesus memes being the most o…
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…loving to you; How can I be more kind? WMFE’s Renata Sago reports that the Orlando massacre opened a door for a progressive Muslim perspective to be heard more widely, quoting Muslims for Progressive Values’ Ani Zonneveld: “We had so many requests for media interviews—Let’s hear the LGBT Muslim perspective. You know, all of a sudden you start hearing, ‘Oh gay Muslims actually do exist!’ It’s like ‘Yeah! They do exist’” she laughs. Zonneveld’s orga…
Read More…an ad in a local shop or community center. Last minute emergency? Call the airline right away to see about possibilities for accommodating your needs. Likewise, if one is ardently anti-abortion for moral reasons, rather than only focus on making it illegal, prevent it by limiting unwanted pregnancies: help ensure adequate, healthy sex education and contraception are available to those who need or want them. Work to make affordable, quality prenata…
Read More…h ultra-Orthodox men interfering in your travel, you can just take another airline. If only it were as easy for female employees affected by the numerous lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage requirement to find a better job. *Correction: This post originally indicated that gender separation was due to concerns about women’s menstrual cycles. To read more about gender separation among Haredi Jews in Israel and in the U….
Read More…soul) damned.” To be lost is not merely a geographic problem for marooned airline passengers, or for men unwilling to stop and ask for directions—it’s a spiritual and moral condition. These days a google search turns up over 500,000,000 hits (that’s half a billion); not too surprising for a basic and often-used term. Similar numerical results come from google searches on terms like “run” and “hide.” Meanwhile, “found” yields over 1.3 trillion hit…
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…rust I have in the TSA before, Jillette’s rant in “Penn’s Bacon and a Kiss Airline” was like finding a long-lost brother; another guy who feels it is criminal to be viewed naked by strangers—involuntarily—is a true freedom fighter. This is a comedian with a conscience. He may come down on the wrong side of many traditional issues (global warming and sexual mores, e.g.), but he is keenly aware that too many people suffer. Theodicy in motion. In the…
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