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Archive: July 26, 2009 - August 1, 2009
Marriage: Both Civil and Religious
Because no one is forced to follow a particular faith, or to join a particular church, we should not require churches to sanction marriages which they believe go against their beliefs.
By Pamela K. Taylor | July 31, 2009; 6:15 PM ET | Comments (7)
Time to Recognize Same-Gender Marriage
Our government's decision to recognize same-gender marriage would in no way inhibit any religions right to make up its own mind about celebrating such a marriage.
By Jane Holmes Dixon | July 31, 2009; 5:31 PM ET | Comments (22)
Egypt's Challenge to Democracy
The arrest and detention of Dr. Aboul Fattouh symbolizes the continuing problem of Arab authoritarianism.
By John Esposito | July 31, 2009; 1:03 PM ET | Comments (1)
Marriage a Civil Right, not Sacred Rite
When people get serious about God and an honest relationship with this God we talk about, we might be able to have an honest discussion about marriage being a truly sacred experience.
By Susan K. Smith | July 30, 2009; 3:59 PM ET | Comments (17)
How to Be White
The way to be white in America is to frankly acknowledge we are not there yet on racial/ethnic equality. See the patterns of racial discrimination, don't overreact and choose to join a movement of people who realize that deep change comes from concrete actions that shift power relations.
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | July 30, 2009; 10:12 AM ET | Comments (129)
Changing Our Ways
Today's small transgression can turn into tomorrow's front page news. It happens to the best of us. Without vigilance and a firm set of principles, it's all too easy to be carried down a path of shame.
By Erica Brown | July 30, 2009; 9:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Six Lashes for Drinking Beer?
Neither the Quran nor the Hadith invokes a penalty for alcohol consumption. The sin of consuming alcohol is described in the Quran in the mildest language of prohibition.
By Feisal Abdul Rauf | July 29, 2009; 1:10 PM ET | Comments (2)
Separate the Civil and the Sacred
I don't believe the state has any business telling us who we should love or how. As a Pagan, I see marriage as one option for nurturing relationships--but not the only option. And I don't want another religion's values to define it for me.
By Starhawk | July 29, 2009; 12:28 PM ET | Comments (13)
Marriage is a Religious Ritual
The concept of a civil marriage is a much later development, established for a secular government to mimic the religious rite while attempting to remove any religious trappings.
By Ramdas Lamb | July 29, 2009; 1:41 AM ET | Comments (28)
Big Brother, Get Out of My Marriage!
I did not take vows in a church or temple, and my vows were taken in the names of several Gods. Would my evangelical Christian friends consider that a legitimate marriage? Who really does have the right to define what is a "marriage" or a "civil union?"
By Aseem Shukla | July 29, 2009; 12:29 AM ET | Comments (10)
Marriage a Privilege Open to All
The State should not tell religious institutions who they should welcome, but not to welcome all of God's people violates everything I know about God and I would have no desire to be part of a discriminating religious body.
By John Shelby Spong | July 28, 2009; 9:16 PM ET | Comments (60)
Rediscovering Athens and Jerusalem
Religion without the stability provided by reason is toxic, but so is reason without the information that only God can provide.
By John Mark Reynolds | July 28, 2009; 4:48 PM ET | Comments (5)
Can Minorities Derail the Same-Sex Marriage Express?
Blacks and Latinos may end up as the proverbial firewall preventing the advancement of the gay and lesbian agenda.
By Samuel Rodriguez | July 28, 2009; 4:25 PM ET | Comments (65)
Law (and Marriage) Has Sacred Origins
That marriage was instituted by God doesn't invalidate marriage; it enhances it.
By Cal Thomas | July 28, 2009; 4:04 PM ET | Comments (31)
WISE Muslim Women
Muslim women don't want equity, or parity, they want equality with men and nothing less. They are working for it daily.
By Pamela K. Taylor | July 28, 2009; 3:11 PM ET | Comments (19)
A Sacred Institution Government Must Protect
The Supreme Court describes civil marriage as "a coming together for better or for worse...and intimate to the degree of being sacred" and recognized the "sacred precincts of marital bedrooms."
By Jim Daly | July 28, 2009; 12:52 PM ET | Comments (92)
A More Faithful Way to Talk About Marriage
If government officials and religious leaders distinguished the differences between legal marriage and religious marriage, they could greatly reduce the amount of conflict in public discussions on same-gender marriage.
By Welton Gaddy | July 28, 2009; 12:51 PM ET | Comments (135)
"Marriage" in Society/Church/State
Dr. Welton Gaddy's invitation to dialog toward "common ground" is really a thorough bash-job against all opposition to defining "marriage" down to include same-sex unions.
By Willis E. Elliott | July 27, 2009; 10:43 PM ET | Comments (22)
My Wife and Her Husbands
My wife is married to another man in the eyes of the Catholic Church, even though she received a civil divorce over 25 years ago.
By Herb Silverman | July 27, 2009; 7:00 PM ET | Comments (10)
God Blesses Gay Marriage
Why should it be the marriages of gay Americans where we take God out of the contract? I think a related, and I hope complimentary struggle, is for the equality of soul of every human being.
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | July 27, 2009; 6:30 PM ET | Comments (96)
If Male is Sacred, Female is Devalued
So if our only images of the sacred are male, and all positions of spiritual authority are held by men only, inevitably women will be devalued.
By Starhawk | July 26, 2009; 8:20 AM ET | Comments (12)
