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Category Archives: Religion in America
A Response from Bend the Arc
In response to my recent post about the name of Bend the Arc, and the shuttering of the service learning division, I received an e-mail from Avi Smolen, the Communications Manager for Bend the Arc. With his permission, I am … Continue reading
Posted in Jewish world, Religion in America
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UnBending the Arc
I’m not sure how many people noticed, but two interesting and vibrant Jewish organizations, Jewish Funds For Justice (which went by the spectacularly misleading acronym JFSJ) and the Progressive Jewish Alliance (which went by the somewhat more helpful PJA) recently … Continue reading
Posted in Jewish world, Religion in America
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Year of Living Dangerously (And the Bible)
This story was sent to me by an alert reader (thanks, Dad!) about my home state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives, apparently with nothing much else to do, passed the following resolution (unanimously!) last week: RESOLVED, That the … Continue reading
So You Say You Want a Revolution
Let me begin by saying that I love Limmud. I support Limmud here in New Orleans, and I think it’s a great thing. It is not, however, the salvation of the Jewish people. David Hazony seems to disagree however: What if … Continue reading
Posted in Jewish Thought, Jewish world, Religion in America
Tagged community, jewish learning, limmud
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Ideological Splits, Practical Results
More than a year ago, The New Yorker published a great article about the struggle over female bishops in the Anglican Church. A few years before that, there was another terrific article about The Episcopal Church here in the U.S. … Continue reading
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Head Covering
There was a really interesting story this morning on NPR about Muslim women and the decision to cover their with a hijab. The story notes that many of the women who choose to remove the hijab do so partly because … Continue reading
On Liturgy
It seems the Catholic Church is altering the mass. That is, they are issuing a new translation of the mass, and it’s got some folks pretty riled up: But after getting a glimpse of the texts in recent months, thousands … Continue reading
Posted in Rabbi Thoughts, Religion in America
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History as Politics
Rick Santorum, a former United States Senator, has a bone to pick with history and the people who tell it: “The idea that the Crusades and the fight of Christendom against Islam is somehow an aggression on our part is … Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Religion in America
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Scientology
As a religious person, I am extremely reticent to judge other religions, their founding stories, or their rituals. Certainly Jews have been the subject of all kinds of dangerous attempts to mischaracterize our beliefs and practices. So it is with … Continue reading
Abortion and the Rubber Hitting the Road
Out of South Dakota comes news that a new bill would expand the definition of justifiable homicide to include the killing of someone who seeks to harm or kill what the bill calls an “unborn child”. As this article from … Continue reading
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Just Say “No”
David Gregory, host of the “Meet the Press” has made a habit of asking top ranking Republican leaders in Congress what they think about the (insane) idea that President Barack Obama is secretly not an American citizen, or not a … Continue reading
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Eric Cantor and Being Jewish in America
Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia is the House majority leader, and thus, by some measures, the most powerful elected Jewish official in U.S. history. (These things can be hard to measure, and certainly there have been Jews closer to the … Continue reading
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The Saadia Gaon Bill O’Reilly Convergence
Here’s Rabbi Saadia Gaon in his The Book of Beliefs and Opinions: This treatise starts out with the preliminary observation that whoever ventures into is seeking light on something that has never been beheld with human eyes nor been perceived … Continue reading
Posted in Religion in America
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Talking About Death
I have written here before about my strong preference for end of life planning, and for frank discussions about the time leading up to death. This excellent article about a new era of candor from doctors who treat cancer patients … Continue reading
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On Reading the Bible
Ok, first the headline, from Fox Nation: Obama Botches Bible Verse at Prayer Breakfast Wow. That sounds pretty bad. I mean, the guy claims to be a Christian. Let’s learn more. President Obama misquoted a familiar Bible verse during a … Continue reading
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