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   Faithful Politics Lilly Fowler: In Salon this week, Michael Scherer has a piece on a Democrat’s run in the state of Tennessee. According to Scherer, Harold Ford Jr. “hopes to become the first black senator from the South since Reconstruction by appealing to religious voters.” [ Continue reading: ]  Last Season's Fashions Lamar Clarkson: Church services are full of refrains. So are commercials. Another institution given to chanting is the New York Times, which can’t stop testifying to the high-powered advertising team that God’s people have formed with Mammon. [ Continue reading: ] Dawkins in the Hot Seat Cameron Bird: Writing in this week's New York Times Book Review, Jim Holt takes on Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion. His analysis is both respectful and critical, calling the Oxford evolutionary biologist the leader in his field, but arguing that he bypasses "the intellectual hard work" in attempting to debunk arguments for the existence of God. Holt joins a growing list of journalists who have come armed with challenging questions for Dawkins on his book tour. [ Continue reading: ]  A Dangerous Precedent Rabia Mughal: A news story in the British paper Daily Mail last week revealed that teaching assistant Ayesha Azmi worships at the same mosque as Mohammed Sidique Khan, one of the July 7th suicide bombers. Azmi recently made headlines when she was suspended from the Headfield Church of England Junior School for refusing to take off her veil at work, lost a discrimination case, and received 1100 pounds for victimization. Even though the Daily Mail has a right-wing stance, and has been accused of racism by some critics, there is still something disturbing about the construction of this story. [ Continue reading: ] God's Entourage Christina Huh: An LA Times report on the latest spiritual development in Hollywood offers no trendy red bracelets, no silent births, and none of the “spiritual but not religious” fixings that celebrities are known for. Instead, "God’s Entourage" provides a... [ Continue reading: ]  Islamic Studies Study Greenfield: A report published today that examined 55 higher education departments and centers in Britain that offer courses in Islamic Studies found that the "institutions are failing to meet the needs of a 21st-century multicultural society," adding that "some departments... [ Continue reading: ] Jewcentricity Greenfield: Adam Garfinkle, editor of The American Interest, on Jewcentricity, how it works in the media, and what it means not only for Jews, but for Muslims and Americans too.... [ Continue reading: ] Relics For Sale Greenfield: The Los Angeles-based International Crusade for Holy Relics (ICHR), an independent group of Christians, is calling for a boycott of eBay until it does more to stop the sale of bodily relics of deceased saints on its site. The... [ Continue reading: ]  Absolute Nonsense Greenfield: The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, says the debate over whether Muslim women wearing veils has parallels with the hounding of Jews in Nazi Germany. Finally, somebody sees the "absolute nonsense" of it all.... [ Continue reading: ]  Torture, Photography, and the Limits of the Secular Photos from Abu Ghraib raise questions about the limits of a secular cultural relativism in the face of torture. Given the religious terms that increasingly shape such violence, are there frameworks beyond secularism to oppose coercion of every kind, including sexual? Judith Butler will address this question and more on Thursday, October 26, at New York University. It's an event that shouldn't be missed. Click here for details. [ Continue reading: ]  True Objectivity Is Biblical Objectivity? Greenfield: Martin Olask, a journalism professor at the University of Texas, believes that "the only way to bring true objectivity to journalism is to be shaped by the worldview of the Bible." Huh?... [ Continue reading: ]  I Have To Confess... Greenfield: "I have to confess, I was going through a nervous breakdown. I was taking pills — tranquilizers. I used to take them all the time. They affected my mind a little bit," admits Rev. Anthony Mercieca, the priest who... [ Continue reading: ]  Hot Topic Greenfield: Islam continues to be a hot topic in England. Tony Blair backs Jack Straw in the "mark of separation" debate and culture minister David Lammy argues that Muslim extremists should be given a voice in the British press.... [ Continue reading: ] A New Media Darling? Greenfield: Mother Jones recently published an article on eccentric preacher K.A. Paul and his meeting with House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Paul claims that during the meeting God convinced Hastert to resign over the Foley scandal -- a claim that Hastert... [ Continue reading: ] Reporting the Bigger Factor Rhea Saran: The half-hour PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly program that airs on Saturday morning was fairly predictable in its contents on October 7th. First was an update on the Amish school shootings. And then, of course, was the Mark Foley scandal. The question is: why is a political sex scandal so high in the line-up for a religion and ethics program? [ Continue reading: ] Y-Love Supreme Jacob Dorman: They threw the third annual Jewzapalooza Sunday, September 17 at the scratch of grass where 72nd Street meets Riverside Park. When I arrived, around three, it was mainly parents with small children and the grandparent class. There were only a few hundred people there, lollygagging on a grass field that was mainly dirt and sitting on cement bleachers or underneath trees in the back, near the kosher food vendors. Kippot and tsitsis were in effect. [ Continue reading: ]  Manseau to Pope: Thanks for the Peg! Give a listen to a little commentarial jujitsu as The Revealer's West Coast Editor Peter Manseau bends over backwards to turn the newly minted sainthood of a 19th century nun into a plug for his memoir, Vows. It's actually less... [ Continue reading: ] Selling Coke to Muslims Blaire Molitor:A recent Fox News report attempts to convince readers that Muslim-themed products mimicing icons of American popular culture are a growing trend in the Islamic world, but the reporter, Catherine Donaldson-Evans, fails to consider one relevant opinion -- that of the Muslims to whom these products are being sold. [ Continue reading: ] Dawkins' Child Rearing Advice Christina Huh: To Richard Dawkins, the most dangerous people are not fundamentalists, but religious moderates who raise children to believe in only one God. In a Salon interview with Steve Paulson, Dawkins says that “to teach children that it is... [ Continue reading: ]  Divine Intervention Greenfield: Think Progress has a link to a new kind of political ad. Created by Stop 42, a Colorado group opposed to a initiative that would increase the minimum wage annually in that state, it features Moses begging for divine... [ Continue reading: ] Apple Mecca Greenfield: The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in NYC is a "blatant insult to Islam," according to an unspecified Islamic web site.... [ Continue reading: ]  Dismiss The Subverters "El Pronto" Greenfield: Max Blumenthal's most recent illuminating report in the Nation focuses on a conservative Christian solution to the Foley problem -- fire all gay Republican staffers. Don Wildmon, founder and chariman of the American Family Association, is convinced that a... [ Continue reading: ]  Jews Gone Wild Greenfield: According to Jerusalem Post Op-Ed contributor and American Orthodox rabbi Shmuley Boteach, American yeshiva students in Israel for their year after high school are "behaving like out-of-control idiots -- either hanging out for hours on end, like so many... [ Continue reading: ]  Mabrouk to the Times Bridget Purcell: Mabrouk to the New York Times, which ran two pieces yesterday providing a rare glimpse of an apolitical Islam. [ Continue reading: ]  Radio France Ecoutez! Revealer's Jeff Sharlet in a radio documentary about creationism in America, on "France Culture," a program of Radio France, the French equivalent of NPR.... [ Continue reading: ] For Sale Sign Saint Christine Hasircoglu: According to a recent Nightline internet broadcast, Saint Joseph is no longer just the foster father of Jesus, he’s also the patron saint of realtors. With the real estate market suffering in Massachusetts, home sellers are looking for divine intervention in the form of six-inch plastic statuettes of the Virgin Mary’s husband. [ Continue reading: ]  The Gospel According to Stevie B. Greenfield: Lauren Sandler, author of Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement, has an excellent profile of the Gospel-preaching and dude-speaking Stephen Baldwin as the feature at Salon today. The piece is not only beautifully written, but it also sheds... [ Continue reading: ] All Eyes On Dobson Nicole Greenfield: In the wake of the Foley scandal, all eyes -- both liberal and conservative -- turned to James Dobson for the evangelical position. At first, Dobson briefly admitted that Foley did wrong, but was quick to lay the ultimate blame on some of his favorite scapegoats. [ Continue reading: ]  The Four Percent Doctrine Greenfield: Alternet's Evan Derkacz had a unique response to yesterday's New York Times piece on evangelical pastors' fear "that if current trends continue, only 4 percent of teenagers will be 'Bible-believing Christians' as adults." Derkacz notes that James Dobson used... [ Continue reading: ] Facing Facing the Giants According to reviews, Facing the Giants is an amateur, formulaic movie that will strengthen Christian hearts and roll secular eyes. But whether this is as inconsequential as it sounds is not so clear. By Evie Nagy Press about the Christian football movie Facing the Giants, released last Friday, comes in the form of three stories: (1) Tiny-budget movie about overcoming adversity through God, produced by Baptist ministers with all volunteer cast, overcomes adversity itself by scoring national distribution; (2) Family-friendly, Christian-themed movie gets PG instead of G rating because Hollywood maybe hates Christians; (3) Football movie with unambiguous Christian message is hokey, predictable, and terribly made, but sweet in its own earnest way. The stories practically write themselves, a lucky break for journalists who might have had a stickier time of it had the movie actually been good. Alex and Stephen Kendrick, brothers and pastors at Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia, gladly admit to having an evangelical agenda in producing the film, and Samuel Goldwyn Films saw it as an opportunity to tap a huge market of Christians tired of Hollywood films they say don’t reflect their values. [ Continue reading: ] Unveiling His Feelings Bridget Purcell: The hijab makes Jack Straw, a senior British Cabinet member, uncomfortable. In his weekly Lancashire Telegraph column, he writes that he requests Muslim women to remove face coverings during interviews, preferring to see their expressions and meet them "face-to-face." Straw's tone throughout the piece is amiable, for he is simply telling us "how he feels." [ Continue reading: ]  Spirit and Power Greenfield: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has published a report on Pentecostalism and other charismatic movements based on surveys conducted in ten countries where such brands of Christianity are prominent. The executive summary of the study states,... [ Continue reading: ]  The Gospel of Green Greenfield: "For Americans, this has been the year the earth turned biblical. Pharaoh may have faced plagues and frogs and darkness; we got Katrina and Rita and Wilma. But this was also the year the environmental movement turned biblical --... [ Continue reading: ]  Emulate Thy Enemy Bridget Purcell: Becky Fischer, the founder of the fundamentalist Christian children's summer program in the new documentary Jesus Camp, finds inspiration in unexpected places. "Where should we [as Christians] be putting our focus? I'll tell you where our [Muslim] enemies are putting it. They're putting it on the kids." Fischer isn't denouncing this strategy; she's marveling at its boldness: "you go into Palestine, and they're taking their kids to camps like we take our kids to Bible camps, and they're putting hand grenades in their hands." [ Continue reading: ] Jesus Withdrawal Lilly Fowler: Last Thursday’s Los Angeles Times fronts a clever if tad dismissive piece on “an ‘ATM for Jesus.’” Richard Fausset reports, “Pastor Marty Baker preaches that the Bible is the eternal and inviolate word of God. On other church matters, he’s willing to change with the times.” A group of Protestant churches, most of them in the South, have opted to install ATM machines in order to gather donations from members of the congregation. [ Continue reading: ]  For Whom Do You Pray? Jill Hamburg Coplan: During these Jewish High Holy Days, coming on the heels of the latest war in Lebanon, my mind returns to a Rosh Hashanah of 24 years ago, a day that changed my life. It was 1982 and my 17th birthday. The Israeli army invaded Lebanon that summer and occupied Beirut. That holy day, its soldiers stood guard while the Lebanese Phalangist militia roamed through the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, killing between 300 and 1,200 Palestinians. My family heard the news before heading to synagogue. [ Continue reading: ] |