Opinion
COMMENTARY: The Catholic Church and Islam: Repairing the breach
By David Gibson — September 13, 2008
The anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks brought a renewed focus-intensified by the lens of a presidential campaign-not only on that day’s devastation but on the nation’s efforts to combat radical Islam while engaging the wider Muslim world. Friday marks a related milestone-two years since Pope Benedict XVI delivered a lecture on faith and reason […]
In 1996
By Mark Silk — September 12, 2008
This story has the ring of truth. A very conservative church is upset about Pastor, I Am Gay, a book published in 1995 by a local American Baptist pastor dealing with his experiences with gay and lesbian parishioners, and advocating reconciliation. The mayor, a member of the church, looks for a way to get the […]
God’s Democracy
By Mark Silk — September 12, 2008
As we hurtle towards the election, in a presidential campaign more chock-full of religion than (I’m prepared to say) any in American history, it’s worth pondering how religion has operated in American public life during the administration of George W. Bush. To that end, I enthusiastically recommend God’s Democracy: American Religion After September 11 by […]
The Pols’ Lincoln
By Mark Silk — September 12, 2008
In her explanation to Charlie Gibson of what she meant when she talked about praying that America’s plan in Iraq was God’s plan, Sarah Palin said: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said — first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would […]
Mailing it in
By Mark Silk — September 12, 2008
Brody’s got a good story on how Sarah Palin has tried and failed to get away with just appearing by video at this weekend’s Value Voters Summit. It seems she was scheduled to appear but now, uh, since she’s in Alaska, kind of, for the weekend, can’t I just mail it in? Tony Perkins, in […]
Assessing Palin’s Religion
By Mark Silk — September 12, 2008
After sleeping on it, I’m inclined to think that Sarah Palin’s prayer on Iraq is nothing very remarkable in the broad context of American Protestantism. To believe that God has a plan, and to pray that what we’re doing is in line with it, and to talk about it in a church–well, that’s pretty ordinary […]
COMMENTARY: High Holidays at fast forward
By Tracy Gordon — September 12, 2008
It is once again the season of the biblically ordained High Holidays when Jews attend synagogue services in large numbers and absent themselves from work and school. As a youngster, I never looked forward to Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur because they represented the end of summer and a return to school. In those halcyon […]
COMMENTARY: High Holidays at fast forward
By James Rudin — September 12, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It is once again the season of the biblically ordained Jewish High Holidays when Jews attend synagogue services in large numbers and absent themselves from work and school. Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) begins at sundown on Sept. 29 and ends 48 hours later; Yom Kippur (the Day of […]
God’s Plan
By Mark Silk — September 11, 2008
In the portion of his interview that aired tonight, Charlie Gibson unfairly truncated Sarah Palin’s now famous prayer regarding the war in Iraq: GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.” Are we fighting a holy war? PALIN: You know, I […]
More on abortion
By Mark Silk — September 11, 2008
Anyone interested in following our ongoing discussion of the bishops’ position on abortion relative to Joe Biden’s recent statement can follow the thread at Life Begins.
Significant?
By Mark Silk — September 11, 2008
Christianity Today‘s Ted Olsen asks whether six points’ worth of evangelicals should be considered a significant pickup for Obama, given the amount of outreach he’s lavished on them. I guess it depends on what you mean by significant. In 2004, George W. Bush improved his performance among Jews by that amount and the general sense […]
COMMENTARY: Life: Beginning, middle and end
By Phyllis Zagano — September 11, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Why is Tom Brokaw picking on Catholics? There’s not a person on the planet who doesn’t know that Catholicism forbids abortion. Yet twice on “Meet the Press,” Brokaw has sucker-punched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden by asking them to pinpoint the beginning of […]
COMMENTARY: Life: Beginning, middle and end
By Phyllis Zagano — September 11, 2008
Why is Tom Brokaw picking on Catholics? There’s not a person on the planet who doesn’t know that Catholicism condemns abortion. Yet twice on “Meet the Press,” Brokaw has sucker-punched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden by asking them to pinpoint the beginning of human life. Pelosi and Biden took […]
COMMENTARY: They will know we are Christians …
By Cathleen Falsani — September 10, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Who is a Christian? It seems like a simple question, but when I Googled my inquiry recently, the result back with 20 million hits. I’ve always understood a Christian to be someone who believes Jesus was who he said he was and tries to live the way Jesus said […]
Life Begins
By Mark Silk — September 10, 2008
In comments on my Bishops v. Biden post below, Thomas Peters of the Americanpapist blog and others take me to task for failing to understand that the bishops are simply acknowledging what today’s embryology textbooks teach; namely, that human life begins at conception. And since we all (should) believe that human life ought not be […]
