I have to admit I’ve never given my baptism into the Roman Catholic Church a second thought. Continue reading
Spirituality
47 posts
The Crasstalk political team has been going back and forth about the latest health care controversy: requiring Catholic hospitals, schools and charities to provide their employees with insurance that covers contraception, abortion-inducing medication (like the morning after pill), and sterilization. This expressly goes against the beliefs of the Catholic Church. As much as I believe that these medications and services are necessary, I’m with the Catholic Church on this one.
A key tenet in the Catholic Church is that you treat the person regardless of their faith or beliefs. In other words, one is not required to be a practicing Catholic or to believe in any Catholic teachings to receive assistance from a Catholic charity, care at a Catholic hospital or education at a Catholic school. Continue reading
Why should inspirational architecture belong exclusively to religionists? Shouldn’t non-believers have quiet places to go where they can ponder a diety-free universe? If writer and philosopher Alain de Botton’s vision comes to fruition, the United Kingdom will soon have its first such building, a 46-meter tower in the heart of London called the Temple to Perspective. Continue reading
When I first drafted this article, the Mean Young Liberal, age 4, was busy constructing “Occupy Wall Street” out of Lego figures. I guess he was impressed with the display of Occupy Lego Land. As I finished it two days later, the NYPD had evicted Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park and were, at that moment, apparently being directed to defy a court order that had permitted the Occupiers back into the park with their equipment.
This past Sunday, I brought the MYL (my nickname for my four-and-a-half year old son) to visit Occupy Wall Street. You see, my husband and I had decided to raise our son in the Religious Society of Friends. (“Hicksite” version). Due to some logistic oddities, we travel from Westchester County to the East Village to attend Meeting and First Day (what Quakers call Sunday) School. Typically, I try to make those days into adventures for the MYL and that Sunday would not be an exception, at least I hadn’t planned it to be. It turned out to be a fairly exceptional day indeed. Continue reading
The oldest Roman Catholic newspaper in the United States has retracted an opinion column suggesting the devil may be responsible for gay attraction.
The column, which appeared Friday in the Archdiocese of Boston’s official newspaper, The Pilot, was titled “Some fundamental questions on same-sex attraction.” It was written by Daniel Avila, an associate director for policy and research for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In the column, Avila says “the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil.” Continue reading
Despite being raised by our saintly mother not to be sharia-loving America-haters, my brother Trash_Melon just had to be different and converted to Islam in 2002. He has impeccable historical timing, obviously. Continue reading
Michelle Bachmann decided she wants to be President of the United States of America. Supporting her in this run at the White House is her loving husband Marcus. Marcus, a PhD in clinical psychology, operates a clinic where allegedly homosexuals can become heterosexuals, a fact Marcus has denied. Some wonder what Marcus Bachmann’s investment in the myth that people can change their sexuality is. As for myself, I really tried to deny that I’m attracted to men. It didn’t work out for me. This is my story. Continue reading
Today is the first day of Ramadan, which celebrates the revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a time of fasting and reflection for Muslims throughout the world. This year there is some sadness as Ramadan starts. There is continuing violence in Syria, and a very bleak situation in Somalia (caution, article is heart-breaking). Nonetheless, Muslims throughout the world are participating in fasting and reflection.
Here is a handy guide from the Washington Post for non-Muslims about Ramadan. Mideast Post has a nice piece on what to do if you attend an iftar, which is the evening meal that breaks the daily Ramadan Fast. Continue reading
I’m sure you’ve heard or come across people who sit there and talk about how the Bible condemns homosexuality. I’m here to tell you that those folks are . . . misguided at best. Some of them are just plan full of it, but I’d like to think that most of them just haven’t actually looked it up. I’d really like to think that they’ve just followed what other people have told them, like so many other popular culture things in America. So, hopefully this will be a quick(ish) guide to what the Bible really says about homosexuality. Continue reading
File this under About Fucking Time!
I applaud Reverend Eric Elnes, the pastor of Countryside Community Church in Omaha Nebraska, for leading the way in dispelling the notion that Christianity is anti-gay. Continue reading