Religion Dispatches
…ure, atheists have been known to condemn God, but they do this in the same spirit as one would condemn a fictional character—say, hapless Othello or the Grinch who stole Christmas. There is absolutely nothing unusual about people expressing disgust and dislike of fictional characters, and that includes the atheists. What is more unusual and, indeed, highly paradoxical, is to encounter people who do believe in the existence of God (hence, for them…
Read More
…t (yet) be a household name, but where the technological revolutions of the 1990s and early 2000s had their aural counterpart in Radiohead (especially OK Computer), today belongs to Arcade Fire, the Montreal-based band whose symphonic rock addresses big questions in narrative song form. Like all award shows, the Grammys serve as an advertisement for an industry—and the music industry certainly needs it, given the collapse of the market for overpri…
Read More…Baby Conference. At the conference they honored Michelle Duggar, mother of 19 children as an example who “has encouraged many women to embrace the blessing of children and rejoice in the high calling of motherhood.” Finally, while 2010 saw developments in the Creationist Movement, it also sought to frame environmentalism as an anti-Christian Pantheisic religion that threatens human life across the planet and launched the Mysterious Islands Campai…
Read More
…abbath Manifesto project, includes “Ten Principles” to guide participation: 1) Avoid technology; 2) Connect with loved ones; 3) Nurture your health; 4) Get outside; 5) Avoid commerce; 6) Light candles; 7) Drink wine; 8) Eat bread; 9) Find silence; 10) Give back. But, according the group’s website, the key principle of focus for the day is the avoidance of technology. Tanya Schevitz, National Communications Coordinator for Reboot, however, makes c…
Read More
…y-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office, the $450 million dollar man’s 11 albums have sold over 50 million copies worldwide. Following the footsteps of Russell Simmons but doing it bigger and deffer, Jay-Z is the consummate businessman. In fact, he’s a business, man. Jay-Z credits his success to his hustler mentality, but he doesn’t stop there… His Blueprint albums reference his power of creation—the divine ability to manifest something out o…
Read More…r. Here is what Michael Bever reminds me: My Song of Mercy was published in 1994 [I’m afraid that’s all I got right]. This publication included both Matthew’s longer exposition of his sexual orientation in “Flute Solo” and the renowned essay, “Celibacy and the Gift of Gay.” “Flute Solo” had been in informal circulation since 1973 when it was written. Thus, he was 58 years old when he made public this affirmation of faith. On closer reading, I note…
Read More…and another witness who said his nephew was radicalized: Their courage and spirit will put a human face on the horror which Islamist radicalization has inflicted and will continue to inflict on good families, especially those in the Muslim community, unless we put aside political correctness and define who our enemy truly is. I’m not holding my breath on a correction from him. UPDATE: My coverage of the hearing is over at the Nation, in which I re…
Read More
…beliefs), practices, history, culture, and much more. Instead, he reduced a 1400-year-old religion with well over a billion adherents to a handful of verses cherry-picked from the Qur’an. A central component of the systematic demonization is his caricature of Muslims and Muhammad as illiterate, perverted, sexist, and responsible for slavery. Federer repeatedly described Muhammad as illiterate, suggesting he was ignorant and making no mention of th…
Read More…t by the Church distance itself from the hard-line tactics instituted by SB 1070 author Russell Pearce (R), who is LDS. Last summer, Latino Mormons in Arizona publicly raised their voices to decry SB 1070 as a contradiction to core tenets of the faith, including the Mormon emphasis on the sanctity of the family. Some sources credit the large number of LDS men and women who have served missions in Latin America with creating greater empathy among U…
Read More
…ent news cycle of political protests started out on a hopeful note. As the spirit of frustrated youthful protest spread at tweet speed to dictatorial regimes and elitist monarchies, journalists flocked to North Africa and the modern day Holy Land. Live coverage has shifted from country to country, depending in large part on where the most violence is erupting. Yet, as much as the story may be promoted as one of hope and liberation, the hook is all…
Read More