Hands in the Till: When Priests Steal
An awful lot of Catholic priests have been caught embezzling from their parishes lately. Is it a symptom of larger dysfunction in the Church?
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Obamunism? The Traditional Values Coalition Coins a Term
Plus: Anti-abortion groups march on; Tony Perkins’ advice to Obama; Focus on the Family sets Newsweek straight; CPAC rides again; a boom in Christian films; and Training against the death penalty.
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Physicians, “Conscience,” and the Denial of Options
New federal regulations, enacted by the lame-duck Bush administration, privilege the religious or moral scruples of physicians over a patient’s right to treatment. 40 million Americans have physicians who will not present them with all the options for treatment.
Read MoreSex and the Seminary: Wake Up and Smell the Incense
A new study reveals that religious professionals are not being trained to deal with the most basic aspects of the sexual dimension of congregants’ lives. Not acceptable when it comes to issues like AIDS/HIV, workplace ethics, domestic violence, and LGBTQ needs.
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Double Helix: Pro-Choice, Pro-Human, Pro-God
Evolution has given us the complex, nuanced ability to wrestle with complex issues. If God did drive the process, then surely God wants us to think hard about an issue like abortion…
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The “G-Word”: Genocide’s Slippery Nature
Once the camps are built and the trains are running—once the machetes have been distributed and the hate radio is broadcasting—it’s too late to respond. A Thanksgiving report on the state of our (un)ethical response to genocide.
Read MoreDouble Helix: Cancer Decoded, Buyer Beware
Many will draw hasty conclusions from a new breakthrough on the cancer front. The real breakthroughs have been telling us that what we—our genes and cells— experience, can affect our children and our children’s children.
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Can Islam Save The Economy?
In the midst of a global financial crisis one sector has yet to suffer the fate of the rest. Islamic finance, or Sharia-compliant banking, offers strict moral guidelines for dealing with money. Trading debt and risky speculation are off-limits, as is investment in immoral enterprises like gambling, prostitution, and war profiteering. It might be time to get the muftis on the phone.
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Dispatches from the Election: How the Values Voter Myth Strengthened the Democrats
McCain’s campaign theme of intolerance is being met by Obama’s support for the values of tolerance and empathy. For the first time since the Civil Rights Movement there’s a clear battle of morality-based worldviews.
Read MoreFaith, Politics, and Fruitcakes
Was Obama’s interpretation of the proper relationship of faith to the Constitution really a “fruitcake” position as Dr. James Dobson called it?
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