Progressive Revival

All day Wednesday, MSNBC advertised a discussion about the “new role” of religion and politics to be aired on the Chris Matthews Show.   When the show began, guest host Mike Barnicle announced that the debate would feature atheist Christopher Hitchens and Religious Right activist Ken Blackwell.  Why does the media insist on believing that American…

Rick Warren is now pro-gay marriage. Or, he never was against gay marriage. (video 1) Except that of course, he was against gay marriage.  (video 2) Rick Warren doesn’t equate gay marriage with incest or pedophilia.  (video 1) Except, or course, he did equate gay marriage with incest and pedophilia in the interview with Beliefnet’s…

Yesterday, on the first day of Holy Week in the western Christian world, President Obama addressed Turkey’s Grand National Assembly and declared that the United States “is not and never will be at war with Islam.” “Our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a violent ideology that people of all faiths…

The President’s Council on Faith Based and Community Partnerships has been filled out. It puts together an extraordinary group of people from different backgrounds and ideologies reinforcing President Obama’s comments yesterday in Turkey : “One of the great strengths of the United States is … we have a very large Christian population — we do not…

President Obama’s newly unveiled Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships taps four progressive religious leaders featured in my recent book, Progressive & Religious: How Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist Leaders are Moving Beyond the Culture Wars and Transforming American Public Life (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008). The leaders come from across the religious spectrum, representing…

The Iowa Supreme Court did the just thing last Thursday when it found laws prohibiting marriage between people of the same gender unconstitutional.   The court gave a UNANIMOUS opinion displaying a moral clarity on the subject which other states and ultimately the nation will surly follow.  The following is from the summary that the court released about…

William Martin is a Senior Fellow for Religion and Public Policy at the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University   First, consider the relevant facts:   The sharing of needles by injecting drug users contributes significantly to the spread of blood-borne diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.   Treatment of…

I just saw this in my inbox from Sojourners!  Hint – it came yesterday, April 1.  Rush Limbaugh to Speak at Sojourners’ Mobilization to End Poverty Get a free issue ofSojourners In an inspiring display of bipartisan bridge-building, talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh has accepted Jim Wallis’ invitation to deliver a keynote address at Sojourners’ Mobilization…

A vegetarian diet is morally superior to one that includes industrially produced meat.   Now, as someone who really likes meat this is hard to take.  I am vegetarian during Lent but not all the time, I want to be, but I admit that sometimes I fail and eat meat.  While I used to rationalize that as part…

For Ethically Sensitive Jews and our non-Jewish allies. This text is not meant to be a replacement for but a supplement to the traditional Haggadah. Feel free to make copies of this to use at any seder you attend, or to transform this in ways that work best for you! AS WE SIT AT THE…

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