Columns
Call to Cairo
By Mark Silk — June 5, 2009
The commentary on Obama’s speech is so voluminous that I’m not inclined at this point to add much to it. Except to note just how much attention the president gave to religion itself. No American leader, of course, has ever been able to come close to Obama’s personal experience of Islam. But neither has one, […]
(Pardonable) exaggeration in Cairo
By Mark Silk — June 4, 2009
In his much awaited speech today, Obama said: Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists […]
Strategizing SSM
By Mark Silk — June 4, 2009
With New England now five-sixths on board with same-sex marriage, you figure those planning for campaigns in other states would be embracing what worked up here by way of devising their own strategies. But judging by a new report from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s National Religious Leadership Roundtable, I’m not so sure. […]
Live Free and Marry
By Mark Silk — June 3, 2009
Final piece of same-sex marriage legislation passes both houses of New Hampshire legislature and gov. says he’ll sign today–making New England five for six on the marriage equality front. “Let’s vote this one last time. Church and state should be separate,” said Rep. Anthony DiFruscia, R-Windham, who helped craft the final compromise language. In the […]
Obama’s Cairo Speech
By Mark Silk — June 3, 2009
H/T to Gilgoff for good reporting on a White House conference call with religious leaders last month to prepare for the president’s speech in Cairo tomorrow. OFANP aides were on the phone–in their international interfaith relations capacity. So how will Obama do the Abrahamic Tango?
Moral Values, reduced
By Mark Silk — June 3, 2009
Back to the Moral Values debate. A recent Pew survey shows that between November 2004 and now Moral Values has slipped from 27 percent to 10 percent as the issue that “would matter most in your presidential vote.” Lo and behold, the economy has gone from 21 percent to 50 percent. Is this surprising? Hardly. […]
Lenexa 2
By Mark Silk — June 3, 2009
A second Lenexa regular, Vince Milum, has checked in as follows: Hi Mark, You must have good Lenexa outreach as I am also a “regular reader in Lenexa.” Each month, we host “Philosophy Parties” here in Lenexa except (unfortunately) for the month of June which we utilize to take vacation time. So a better reading […]
Mideast Millennium
By Mark Silk — June 3, 2009
As President Obama heads off for Araby, the evangelical drums are beating out a pro-Israel tattoo. The Jerusalem Post is promoting a new poll by the Joshua Project showing lots of American Christian–especially evangelicals–prepared to agree that they have a “biblical and moral obligation” to support the Jewish state. This, saith Brody, means that the […]
The word from Lenexa
By Mark Silk — June 2, 2009
Our regular reader from Lenexa–Stephen Suh by name, Cogitamus blogger by fame–sends in this report from Kansas: I’d be interested in hearing from the regular reader in Lenexa, KS about local reaction to Roeder’s arrest. Hmmm. I’m pretty sure that’s me, so I’ll give it a shot. Take all this with a grain of salt, […]
Finn’s Silence
By Mark Silk — June 2, 2009
Sean Michael Winters offers a smart response (you can ignore the kind words about me) to my post about the Tiller murder, Bishop Finn, and the moral consequences of inflammatory rhetoric. Winters’ suggestion is that the rhetoric of war used by Finn amounts to a confession of impotence. I fear that the reason for the […]
The God Gap and the GOP Future
By Mark Silk — June 2, 2009
According to a new Gallup poll, nearly half of all Republicans are non-Hispanic whites who say they attend worship once a week or more. Only one-fifth of Democrats fall into this category and–note this–only a quarter of Independents do. By contrast, 48 percent of Independents, 44 percent of Dems, and 40 percent of Republicans are […]
Who is Scott Roeder?
By Mark Silk — June 1, 2009
Judy Thomas of the Kansas City Star has put together a good, quick profile. He is a long-timer on the anti-abortion fringe, and as part of the Freemen movement has been off the grid in other ways as well. He subscribes to an anti-abortion magazine called Prayer and Action News, which seems to be linked […]
Abortion reduction, Kansas style
By Mark Silk — May 31, 2009
We know how it goes. The murder of Dr. George Tiller, the late-term abortion provider, elicits condemnation from all but the fringe of the pro-life movement. Of course, at the near end of the fringe, there’s Randall Terry, who sticks to his guns, expressing no regret for the killing other than what would be said […]
Who’s listening
By Mark Silk — May 29, 2009
Is it interesting that the senior director of Focus on the Family’s Sanctity of Human Life department thinks the Obama administration is “really listening” on the subject of foster care? Yes it is. And even more interesting that the thought is purveyed via a canned quote on Focus’ CitizenLink website.
Miguel Diaz Cubano
By Mark Silk — May 28, 2009
One other politically significant fact about Diaz: He’s Cuban-American. I would not be at all surprised to find him playing a role in normalizing Cuban-American relations–something Obama has already begun to do, and which the Vatican, with its own religious agenda, wants to foster. Diaz brings to the table a particular sensitivity to the role […]
