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Archive: July 19, 2009 - July 25, 2009
Ranting on the Right and Left
What remains truly stupid, in my opinion, is for the discussion to stop where it seems to stop among many cable news pundits, sanctimoniously blaming Gates, Crowley, or Obama for this or that transgression.
By Brian D. McLaren | July 25, 2009; 3:49 PM ET | Comments (5)
Fighting Religiously-based Misogyny? Just a Start
In the way women are treated globally, religion plays only a part--sometimes greater, sometimes less, depending on location--in a larger culture where secular and ethnic traditions, economics and political ideologies are also significant shaping forces, and often far from liberating ones.
By Gustav Niebuhr | July 23, 2009; 3:44 PM ET | Comments (0)
Sorry, President Carter, this Argument Falls Flat
He makes claims about the Bible that are reckless and irresponsible and historical claims that would make any credible church historian blush.
By R. Albert Mohler Jr. | July 23, 2009; 9:06 AM ET | Comments (60)
Anxious? Talk About It
Do you cope better with anxiety when you banish it or when you talk it over?
By Erica Brown | July 23, 2009; 8:04 AM ET | Comments (1)
Sacred Traditions Should be Gender Blind
Most Hindus see their religion as a living one, a faith whose revelatory power did not end millenia ago, but continues to this day. The modern spiritual masters, scores of whom are women, attest to this vivacity.
By Aseem Shukla | July 22, 2009; 9:40 PM ET | Comments (2)
Rethinking the "Sacredness" of Scripture
In the Dharma Traditions, especially Hinduism and, to some extent theistic Buddhism, the issue of the Divine's gender is quite different.
By Ramdas Lamb | July 22, 2009; 8:42 PM ET | Comments (0)
The Radical Left vs. The President
The religious left, which initially swooned over Obama-the-community-organizer, is growing restless with such com-promise and incrementalism.
By Lisa Miller | July 22, 2009; 3:12 PM ET | Comments (0)
Unfair to Paint All Religions with Same Brush
So please don't confuse Christian teaching with the offensive practices of other faiths (Islamist discrimination against women, for example). Interestingly, for the last several centuries, campaigns for equal rights for women have largely been led by Christians.
By Charles "Chuck" Colson | July 22, 2009; 1:38 PM ET | Comments (4)
Muslim Women Reclaiming Their Rights
Though patriarchy, legitimated in the past by religion, remains very much alive as an ideology and value system, in many Muslim countries it is progressively challenged by women, also in the name of religion as well as economic realities.
By John Esposito | July 22, 2009; 1:05 PM ET | Comments (2)
Time for a Women's Jihad Against Violence
In the Qur'an, God granted women increased protections against abuse, financial vulnerability, and societal marginalization, just to name a few. Yet many later Muslims ignore these provisions.
By Daisy Khan | July 22, 2009; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (4)
A Text of One's Own
The issue is not if religious texts of old carry weight but whether or not we use religion as a thinly-veiled cover for misogyny, just as it's used today to support violence.
By Erica Brown | July 22, 2009; 8:51 AM ET | Comments (2)
Male Truths, Female Consequences
In the Muslim world, religious patriarchy has intersected with social conservatism, political and theological totalitarianism, and reactionary resistance to political, economic and cultural colonialism to create devastating consequences for women's lives.
By Pamela K. Taylor | July 22, 2009; 8:29 AM ET | Comments (4)
Does God Ordain Machismo?
Truth be told, there are passages in the biblical narrative that if taken out of context seem to reinforce the notion of God ordained Machismo or secondary status of women.
By Samuel Rodriguez | July 22, 2009; 4:12 AM ET | Comments (53)
More Courage Needed
To attribute discrimination to the way we interpret texts has some justification. But surely there is also discrimination not because of the way we interpret, but because of the texts themselves.
By David Wolpe | July 21, 2009; 8:28 PM ET | Comments (1)
Compassion, Christians and Health Care
Isn't health care a pro-life issue?
By Susan K. Smith | July 21, 2009; 5:22 PM ET | Comments (1)
Women's Rights & Religion
As we promote justice, equality and human rights we must also respect religious teachings and traditions that specify gender roles within the practice of faith.
By Leith Anderson | July 21, 2009; 2:49 PM ET | Comments (1)
Biblically Sanctioned Oppression Not God's Will
The misguided and self-serving theology of men has caused women to suffer immensely as they have wanted to do the "will of God," which was really the will of men.
By Susan K. Smith | July 21, 2009; 2:38 PM ET | Comments (3)
Blaming Men is not Good Theology
Blaming "male interpretations of religious texts" for the lack of women's equal rights is flawed theology, at least within the context of Baptists of the South.
By Robert Parham | July 21, 2009; 2:16 PM ET | Comments (1)
When God Was a Woman
Women's second-class status in the world's major religions is not primarily a text problem, it's a God problem.
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | July 21, 2009; 1:55 PM ET | Comments (10)
Jimmy Carter and the Elders
The Elders have much to learn--and to teach. While they pursue this cause we picture them not settling for the rocking chair or the souvenir books, but finding other themes.
By Martin Marty | July 21, 2009; 12:39 PM ET | Comments (3)
Male Authority Posing as Divine Authority
The Christian Church has for far too long attempted to perfume sexist discrimination against women under the name of "Bible-based, Sacred Tradition." I wonder what part of the male anatomy bears the divine image?
By John Shelby Spong | July 21, 2009; 12:19 PM ET | Comments (69)
Jimmy Carter Apparently Thinks He's Jesus, Moses and Muhammad
By making statements equating his own understanding of religion with the will of "Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions", Jimmy Carter continues his well-established tradition of making outrageous statements to justify legitimate concerns.
By Brad Hirschfield | July 21, 2009; 11:31 AM ET | Comments (8)
Can Women Get God on Their Side?
There are no magic formulas here. Education, consciousness raising, and individual claims to power are tried and true steps if women want to attain equality.
By Deepak Chopra | July 21, 2009; 11:24 AM ET | Comments (1)
Mr. Carter's Own Interpretations
I have spent most of my adult life arguing against gender discrimination within the Christian community, but Mr. Carter's declaration makes me nervous.
By Richard Mouw | July 21, 2009; 10:13 AM ET | Comments (2)
Male Problem or Millennial Problem?
is it any surprise that holy books, written some 2000 to 3000 years ago, contain many vile portions that reflect the misogynistic and patriarchal culture of the time?
By Herb Silverman | July 21, 2009; 9:36 AM ET | Comments (13)
Eureka! Old Men Say Man's Holy Books Can Hurt Women
While religion is not the only source of women's subjugation, it has always been one of the major sources. However, the problem is not "male interpretation of religious texts" but religion itself.
By Susan Jacoby | July 21, 2009; 6:16 AM ET | Comments (281)
Carter's Fundamentalism
Carter has a fundamentalism of his own. As I read his letter, it strikes me that Carter still wishes to affirm the inviolability of scripture.
By Mathew N. Schmalz | July 20, 2009; 6:08 PM ET | Comments (30)
Laws Should Honor the Mutual Superiority of the Sexes
Excluding women from leadership in religion violates the essence of religion
By Willis E. Elliott | July 20, 2009; 4:38 PM ET | Comments (4)
