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Dialogue or Demonization? Where Gays are Concerned, Focus on the Family Wants it Both Ways

By Cody J. Sanders

…ess the true model presented by Jesus Christ in the Bible—who didn’t back away from speaking truth.” It would seem that the subject is a “biblical” model of marriage and sexuality. But the subject is proposed in a way that sets up another false binary division, suggesting that the dialogue is between those who believe in the “true model” presented in the Bible and those who do not. This seems an attempt to control the discourse on (“Christian”) fa…

An Atheist Hero is Something to Be

By Carolyn S. Briggs

…figure out it’s redundant, but given what we know about psychology and the way the brain works and the way evolution has taught us not to just battle each other into submission, but to cooperate and help each other, there will come a time when people see it as unnecessary, a philosophical distortion of reality. Does religion make people do bad things? Frequently and far, far worse than we imagine. On the extreme end, you have the motivating forces…

How “Gratitude” Underwrites Inequality, Power and Exclusion

By Eric C. Miller

…rce and starts to insulate the status quo. Gratitude operates in a similar way, with similar potentials. When we find ourselves in a position of owing—and people in a democratic society always owe something to other people—we may become vulnerable to control. Certain Roman figures, like Cicero and Seneca, recognized the power of gratitude to maintain social stability. Cicero argued that, when we accept a gift from someone else, we enter into a con…

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

By Peter Montgomery

…ge.org petition, and how has the response been? I was trying to think of a way to provide Catholics with a way to make their voices heard. I grew up in the same Church that every Catholic across the country did, in which silence sometimes plays a very large role. We have learned every once in a while that we need to stand up and say, “Silence is not a good option.” When we are silent, we aren’t acting like Christ—petitions are an important way for…

A desolate road in Israel lined with security fencing.

Decadence, Sickness, and Death: Mourning and the Israel-Hamas War

By Shaul Magid

…equivalence to suggest (nor is it blasphemous to imply), that in different ways, very different ways, this is true of both sides of the conflict. The head of the IDF stated that “Gaza will never be the same.” What they did not state, but which is equally true, is that Israel will never be the same. I do not argue that both are in crisis in order to draw equivalence where there is none, but to try to interrogate some of the contours of both sides u…

America’s National Conversation about Christianity is ‘Fundamentally Unserious’ — But Not in the Way You Think

By Chrissy Stroop

…conversation about Christianity in the United States, we must consider the ways in which Christian hegemony harms others, including through its normalization of Christian extremism. Instead of systematically silencing the voices of leavers, nonbelievers, and religious minorities in discussing Christianity and “religious freedom,” any serious discourse on these matters must include us as stakeholders in hashing out a fair and equitable approach to…

Unquestioned Support for Israel Wasn’t Always the Way for Conservative Christians

By Amy Fallas

…estinians. According to a policy paper from the U.S. State Department, the number of displaced Palestinian persons numbered 725,000 by May 1949. Although Palestinian repatriation and compensation for property was required under the UN Partition Agreement of 1947 and UN Resolution 192, Israeli Foreign minister Moshe Sharett objected on the basis “that their [Palestinian] return would disturb the homogeneity of Israeli areas.” In response, Christian…

A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation

By Frederick Clarkson and André Gagné

…tion are sourced solely on the claims of the groups themselves. We have no way to independently verify these numbers, so they should be used advisedly. Simply put, the global vision of the NAR is based on their understanding of the Great Commission text of Matthew 28:18-20, with an emphasis on “discipling nations” (28:19). International apostolic networks are therefore necessary for the apostles to lead the five-fold ministry (Apostle, Prophet, Ev…

To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise

By Diane Winston

…ederal funds to further their own professional goals. Government was a one-way street: the expectation was that it should support entrepreneurship without expecting anything in return. It was the old Populist notions reinterpreted by Christian capitalists on steroids. Walton’s collegiate programs eventually led to foreign exchanges that paved the way for setting up shop globally. Adding a new dimension to American evangelism, Christian universitie…

Why Virginia Governor’s ‘God is Everywhere’ Statement isn’t a Simple Answer to Those Who Want to Worship Together

By Karen E. Park

…nding church services in person, though it can and is fostered by it. This way of thinking about religion in America—as personal, emotional, and individual—is more than common, it’s normative. But as Bishop Barron points out, this way of being religious isn’t actually universal—it’s Protestant. We can see its lack of universality clearly when we look at a non-Christian tradition. Where I live, in Appleton, Wisconsin, there’s a sizable Hmong popula…