tennessee

Sexuality/Gender

Marriage Equality: No More (Word) Games

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How do I make sure that my contribution to the discussion of marriage equality properly accounts for my Christian faith? Instead of having the discussion in a vacuum, where words and ideas can be analyzed outside of experience, I make sure that my analysis runs directly through experience, and most importantly, through the experience of the suffering. Relative to this discussion, there is no more appropriate voice to include than that of the LGBT community, those whose experience has been objectified in “our” discussions of “their” rights.

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(A)theologies, Sex/Gender/Justice

A Church Group, a Lawsuit, and a Culture of Abuse

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It’s no accident that so many allegations of serious abuse have arisen across Sovereign Grace Ministries. The combination of patriarchal gender roles, purity culture, and authoritarian clergy that characterizes Sovereign Grace’s teachings on parenting, marriage, and sexuality creates an environment where women and children—especially girls—are uniquely vulnerable to abuse. 

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(A)theologies

Are Atheists The New Campus Crusaders?

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This month at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a select group of students will show their humanitarian spirit by participating in the Bleedin’ Heathens Blood Drive. Later in the month, they will eat cake to celebrate Darwin Day, and earlier this year, they performed “de-baptism” ceremonies to celebrate Blasphemy Day, attended a War on Christmas Party, and set up Hug An Atheist and Ask An Atheist booths in the campus quad.

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(A)theologies, Culture

New Report: Angels & Aliens in Texas Schools

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What would Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark think of public school Bible courses that taught that Jewish festivals are actually typological predictions of Jesus, that the “African races” are descendants of Noah’s cursed son Ham, that biblical stories about angels may have referred to extraterrestrial visitors, or that Genesis’ six-day creation story is scientifically accurate if interpreted correctly?

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(A)theologies, Politics/Law

Richard Land Steps Down, But Not Out of the Culture Wars

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Without question, Land will be remembered for his important roles in America’s culture wars, especially with regard to abortion and gay rights: he helped give the SBC a public witness that stood in consistent opposition to gay rights, abortion rights and even many forms of birth control. A once moderately pro-choice denomination was transformed into a “pro-life” denomination largely under Land’s leadership. He also narrowly defined “pro-life” for evangelicals to mean strictly “anti-abortion,” eschewing the more expansive understanding of that concept offered by the Catholic Church.   

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