Religion Dispatches
Looking at the online flood zone map of our neighborhood, I feel calm. I’m a bit of a map freak and I appreciate how clearly this one presents the information and how easily I can navigate within it. I know, vaguely, that the East Village is vulnerable to flooding from the East River but now I can see the facts. Zooming in, I see the exact boundaries of Zone A—the mandatory evacuation zone. It extends from the river up to the public housing blo…
Read More…wn for its role in creating and compiling the so-called “Nuremberg Files”: online dossiers on abortion providers and abortion supporters including their work addresses, photos, and places of worship. There was a trial, and Dreste himself was fined millions in damages, according to a 1999 investigative piece on Dreste by the St. Louis Riverfront Times: The defendants, two anti-abortion groups and 12 individuals, including Dreste, were not charged w…
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…“Muslim Mural is UNNECESSARY provocation.” Tempers are running even higher online, where noted blogger and Islam critic Pamela Geller called the mural “a stab in the eye”…. None of the above is really fictional. All of the quotes are authentic; I just borrowed them from the “Ground Zero Mosque” saga. The “Islam” mural is real, too. You can see it for yourself in a proud spot on the dome of the Library of Congress, part of a series called “Human Kn…
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…r Hoffman), a fictional stand-in for Scientology’s founder L. Ron Hubbard. Online comments sections were rife with speculation that the Church of Scientology would stop at nothing to keep Anderson from revealing “the truth” about Hubbard. But Anderson has insisted that the movie is not about Scientology. “It’s not the L. Ron story,” he explained. Either way, I think The Master qualifies Anderson for an honorary degree in the study of new religious…
Read More…than blasphemy and a crude film. Watch:…
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…Post. Different Standards At Work The day after CT’s article was published online, the Post published a long piece titled, “Sources in ‘Second Coming Christ Controversy’ Face Scrutiny,” followed days later by another with the less subtle headline, “Christianity Today Writer Ken Smith Is Founder of a Company Fined for Deceptive Business Practices; With Child Porn Ties.” The main thrust of the first of the two Post pieces was to disprove the allegat…
Read More…chises all male members of the Church above 12 years of age—launched a new online campaign to foster conversation by profiling LDS men and women who support ordination at OrdainWomen.org. On Friday, the LDS Church responded to the heightened attention to with the release of a video featuring leaders of the Church’s women’s auxiliaries weighing in on the role of women. Female church leaders directly addressed women “concerned that they don’t hold t…
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…gh relationship-building, not through shouting matches on cable news or in online comment threads. Today I strive to build a relationship whenever I can—even with people who think that who I am is innately wrong—because if I refuse to engage, how can I hope for change? I’m glad I had the opportunity to not only interact with nontraditional Mormons, but also with more conservative individuals and with traditional institutions like the Orem Utah LDS…
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…acticing Buddhists, not to mention for his millions of spiritually-curious online followers? But his atheistic-toned words should not come as a surprise. Back in June, he tweeted that he is “increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.” Slowly, HHDL’s social media team has been tweaking the guru’s image to better align with our more secular views. Westerners are d…
Read More…the nice list. These elves are ubiquitous. They can be purchased from bookstores, Target, and online retailers. Tutus can create girl elves, and sports jerseys can masculinize the boy elves. Parents move elves around their homes, so that the elf is a different spot every morning. Some parents elaborately stage elves making mischief with marshmallow fights and flour “snow” angels. Facebook photos of Santa’s helpers abound as parents document how s…
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