Category: Religion

Politics, Religion

The God Card

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Even as we watch the violent collision of politics and religion at American embassies around the world, here at home Presidential politics took a decidedly religious turn. Mitt Romney, trailing in several decisive purple states, has resorted to the “God Card.”  Capitalizing on the omission (and later reinsertion) of God into the Democratic Party platform, Romney has recently added God into his stump speech, “I will not take God out of my heart, I will not take God out of the public square, and I will not take it out of the platform of my party.” [Insert Amen! here].

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Supreme Court

Deplorable

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

A press statement issued in the name of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, condemns the attacks on the mission in Benghazi. Also include in the statement is:

The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.

What is deplorable is that nowhere in the statement is a commitment to free speech that goes back to the very beginning of our nation. Continue reading “Deplorable” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Karzai Denounces Filmmakers for the Murder of Americans in Libya

Our erstwhile ally in Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is responding to the brutal murder of U.S. ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other embassy staff in Benghazi on Wednesday. Stevens was reportedly suffocated to death by the attacking mob which attacked the consulate because of a small film shown in the United States that was deemed as insulting to the Muhammad. Karzai then offered his own take on the murders by denouncing the “inhuman and abusive act” of the . . . filmmakers.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Teacher Reportedly Forced Out of Tennessee School For Supporting Atheist and Gay Students

Lenoir City High School is teaching its students a chilling message about free speech and journalistic freedom. Earlier in the year, the school barred Krystal Myers, an honor student and editor of the school newspaper, from writing a provocative article on being an atheist at a Christian school entitled “No Rights: The Life of an Atheist”. It is the type of article that can generate some insightful discussion among high schools, but School Director Wayne Miller censored the entire article to protect the school from “disruption.” Now, the school has reportedly transferred journalism teacher Richard Yoakley for the offense of merely supporting atheist and gay students at the school. He quit in response to the pressure.

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Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Supreme Court

Ryan: Prayer In Public Schools Is A State Issue

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Paul Ryan, Republican nominee for Vice President, said he believes that states should have the right to determine if prayer in public schools is allowed. In response to a question from a campaign volunteer, Ryan said that’s “a constitutional issue of the states.” Prayer in public schools is a hot-button issue for religious conservatives. Was Ryan simply pandering to the Republican base or does he truly not support the separation of church and state?

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Free Speech, International, Religion

Muslim Cleric Arrested For Framing Christian Girl

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

We have previously discussed the case of Rimsha Masih, an 11-year-old girl who was accused of burning pages of a Quran. In an unusual turn of events, an imam at an Islamabad mosque, identified as Khalid Jadoon Chishti, has been arrested and charged with blasphemy for planting torn pages from a Quran in Rinsha’s trash bag which contained ashes.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Society

California Passes Controversial Resolution Equating Criticism of Israel with Anti-Semiticism On College Campuses

Over objections over academic freedom and free speech, the California State Assembly passed a controversial resolution (HR 35) that calls on universities to crackdown on criticism of Israel. Passed by a voice vote, the resolution includes language that equates criticism of Israeli policies and actions as “anti-Semitism.” While the resolutions original purpose is laudatory and does include clear expression of anti-Semitism, its drafters decided to include criticism of Israel and its human rights record in a measure that at a minimum chills free speech by professor and students alike. Drafted by Republican Linda Halderman, there was no hearing or debate allowed on the resolution. Just a voice vote.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Religion, Society

“One Should Not Beat Out of Anger”: Egyptian Cleric Explains The Proper Islamic Approach To Wife Beating

We have previously seen Muslim clerics instruct men on how to beat their wives in an Islamically correct way. Egyptian cleric Abd Al-Rahman gave the latest installment on Al-Nas television — affirming the need for men to beat their wives as did Mohammad.

Continue reading ““One Should Not Beat Out of Anger”: Egyptian Cleric Explains The Proper Islamic Approach To Wife Beating” →

Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Society

Church Construction Ignites Widespread Protests in Bahrain

We have another example of religious intolerance from one of our closest Gulf allies, Bahrain. Christians in that country were hoping to build a large church — something they are prohibited from doing in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom had agreed to the construction in what was widely viewed as a major advance for religious freedom. That has now led to widespread protests and the statement from a prominent cleric, Sheik Adel Hassan al-Hamad, who proclaimed in a sermon that all further construction on any church should end in the country since “anyone who believes that a church is a true place of worship is someone who has broken in their faith in God.” The protests have led the monarchy of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to isolate al-Hamad.

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Religion, Science

AAP: Health Benefits Of Circumcision Outweigh Risks

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP – the science-based one) has recently published the results of its task force on circumcision. The AAP evaluated the recent evidence and determined that “the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks and that the procedure’s benefits justify access to this procedure for families who choose it.” We have previously discussed the ruling of a German court that parents who circumcise their sons based on religious beliefs are committing child abuse.

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Justice, Religion

Sandusky’s Apologist: Child Abuse Victims “Seduce” Their Tormentors According To Catholic Monk

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Fr. Benedict Groeschel is a prominent member of the ultra-right Franciscan Friars of the Renewal with his own religious column and a programming spot on EWTN, the ominous sounding Global Catholic Channel. In a recent article in the Catholic Register, Groeschel takes aim at the Sandusky scandal at Penn State and the objects of his ire are the child abuse victims. Because, to the learned friar, it is Sandusky, and not his prey, that is the rightful recipient of sympathy. Calling Sandusky “this poor guy” he says:

“People have this picture in their minds of a person planning to — a psychopath. But that’s not the case. Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster — 14, 16, 18 — is the seducer.”

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Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Society

Methodist Mayhem: Church Cited For Changing Message On Sign More Than Two Times In One Day

There is an interesting free exercise case developing in Fairfax County, Virginia (where I live). The Church of the Good Shepherd has been informed that it may have to remove its sign after violating country rules that prohibit electronic signs from being changed more than twice a day unless they are giving weather reports. An inspector informed the church that it had posted three different messages in one day and thus stood in violation of the law. The church is objecting on religious freedom grounds — citing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Matthew 12:39 warns that “an evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign” and it appears that Fairfax County has found one.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion

Taliban Behead 17 People Found Dancing At Party In Afghanistan

Taliban militia in Afghanistan objected to a mixed-gender dance party in a Southern province this week as unIslamic. Rather than turning off the music, the militia (which controls the area) beheaded 17 people at the party to defend the faith against immorality. (A Taliban official is shown here in one of its favorite past times of beating women into submission).

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Bizarre, International, Military, Politics, Religion

Leading Israeli Rabbi Calls For The Death of Iranians and Destruction of Iran

You may recall how recently an array of high ranking Israeli officials in the Netanyahu government, including National Security Council head Ya’akov Amidror and Interior Minister Eli Yishai, briefed ultra-Orthodox rabbi and Shas leader Ovadia Yosef on the proposed war with Iran in the hopes of receiving his blessing. Both the war (which Netanyahu reportedly wants before the U.S. presidential election) and the need to get nod from a religious leader were criticized, including by some of us who noted the extreme views of Yosef. Now, Yosef has called upon Jews to pray for the death of Iranians and the destruction of the nation of Iran. Now we have spiritual leaders is both countries calling on God to annihilate whole countries as examples of divine and moral justice.

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Politics, Religion, Society

A Philosophical Defense Of Abortion

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Judith Jarvis Thomson, professor emeritus at MIT, provides some interesting thought experiments in her article entitled In Defense of Abortion. Thomson acknowledges the problem of determining the particular moment during gestation when a fetus becomes a human being, so she starts by granting that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception. From there, the argument usually goes that, since every person has a right to life, a fetus has a right to life. The fetus’s right to life supersedes the mother’s right to decide what happens in and to her body.

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