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The Search For Proofs For God’s Existence

By Gordon Haber

…faith, or by the conclusions he draws from it. I’ve learned a lot from him about philosophy and, actually, a lot about human decency. I’m less enraptured by his dismay about homosexuality. To a reporter, Craig is in many respects the perfect subject. He’s a hugely polarizing cult icon, literally a savior to thousands of teenage evangelical boys who’ve wrestled with doubt, and he’s the atheist crusaders’ most feared enemy. He’s also a gifted organi…

Some Christian and Muslim Leaders Urging ‘No’ Vote in Australian Mail Ballot on Marriage Equality; and More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…astor of Westcity Bible Baptist Church in West Auckland, is “unapologetic” about his remarks suggesting that gay people should be killed. From the New Zealand Herald: “My view on homo marriage is that the Bible never mentions it so I’m not against them getting married,” Robertson says. “As long as a bullet goes through their head the moment they kiss … Because that’s what it talks about – not homo marriage but homo death.” Robertson said he is not…

Founder of Liberal Mosque in Germany Under Guard After Death Threats; And More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…assmates “because he was deemed insufficiently masculine.” Little is known about the deceased’s sexuality, but his death speaks volumes about the stigma of being perceived to be gay — or even a little bit feminine — in a country where homosexuality is effectively illegal. Anti-LGBT tensions have been rising in Malaysia in recent years as its conservative government cracked down on the country’s queer and transgender population. The brutal killing,…

Cardinal Dolan Not So “Charitable,” says Young Gay Catholic

By Peter Montgomery

…pastoral issue, a political issue, or both? This is a pastoral issue. It’s about young people in need. It’s not about policy, like an HHS mandate. I can’t say it enough: This is about witnessing to human dignity. When Mother Theresa served people she met them where they were at. We need to meet these young people where they are at, whether they are served by LGBT nonprofits or Catholics. Polls suggest that Catholics are more supportive of LGBT…

Climate Change is a Sin—Here’s How to Repent For It

By Jay Michaelson

…just express them in different ways. To oversimplify, conservatives worry about sex and progressives worry about food. We’re both concerned with contamination, with pure and impure, and with the Grave Impact of seemingly innocuous personal choices. It’s just that conservatives get upset by homosexuality, and liberals by GMO’s. In fact, I think the grammar of sin—without its vocabulary—is alive and well in progressive religious circles. Consider h…

Rick Perry’s Jesus Imperative: A Report from Saturday’s Mega-Rally

By Sarah Posner

…ces here, but we’re focusing on one issue: Jesus,” Garlow added. “It’s not about whether Perry becomes president, it’s about making Jesus king.” Jesus = Obedience Mike Bickle, who runs an organization that seems less interested in the rough and tumble of politics, and more in capturing young people in the thrall of his 24/7 prayer room, spoke at length about what he claims is Christian failure to obey the First Commandment: to know Jesus, to love…

The American Media’s Longterm Ambivalence About the Papacy

By Peter Manseau

…ormer employer’s concerns, in the beginning Newsweek published very little about religion generally, and less about Catholics specifically. It featured the pope on its cover only at those unignorable moments such as the death of Pius XI in 1939, and the election of Pope John XXIII nine years later. (The 1939 election of Pius XII did not warrant a cover in Newsweek’s estimation.) The advent of the 1960s, and the magazine’s new status as subsidiary…

Jewish Past/Israeli Future: A Review of The Invention of the Jewish People

By Shalom Goldman

…ough Sand may not always get his historical facts right, he is very astute about the present. Particularly about the fate of scholars engaged in any critique of Israeli government policies: “I know that there are a lot of organized Zionists that cannot accept the sort of criticism that one can voice in Israel. But I want you to know I am not afraid of Alan Dershowitz”. Highly critical of American Jewish support of the Israeli Right, Sand notes tha…

Mike Johnson’s Porn-Monitoring isn’t Just ‘Creepy’ — it’s a Window to the Fascist Desire Driving the White Evangelical Will to Power

By Jessica Johnson

…in response to legal battles or political rhetoric, but also to teachings about porn, masculinity, sex, women, intimacy, and desire that they grew up with and instill in their children—teachings that are bodily transmitted and re-enacted. Manichean us versus them sensibilities need not play out on an explicitly political stage to be cultivated through embodied repetition in ways that statistics about religious and party affiliation are unable to…

White Christian Complaints About Religious Persecution Are Especially Ugly on MLK Day

By Sunnivie Brydum

…uch winning,” Farris is committed to victory for his cause, and he’s clear about the barriers that stand in his way: “Winning means religious freedom is robustly protected,” Farris said on ADF’s “Freedom Matters” podcast. “Winning means Roe v. Wade is reversed. Winning means that same-sex marriage by judicial edict is reversed, and we go back to the states and let the states make their own policy on this.” Although he doesn’t mention it explicitly…