Search

What a family with 19 kids says about the religious right.

The student of theology revels in the grandeur, emotion and beauty of a clear moment of human interconnectedness. It is the student of ethics, however, that lets her eyes wander further beyond the pitch. With that drift the existential beauty becomes more complicated; potentially tragic.

“If you are going to be a Catholic—or any type of Christian—you are going to have to get rid of your guns, withdraw from any military, have nothing to do with weapons manufacturing or killing, and practice nonviolence at every level.”

Nguyen sheltered hundreds of Vietnamese families in his church, and remained with them during the floods until the last family was rescued. Now with the BP oil spill creeping onto Louisiana’s coast, dismantling the lives of thousands of fishers, shrimpers, and oyster harvesters, many of whom are Vietnamese, Nguyen is in the position of miracle-maker again. It’s not a question of what Father Vien wants—it’s a question of finding out what a community needs.

Many first learned of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints when the polygamous group came into the media spotlight following leader Warren Jeffs’ arrest (and eventual conviction) as an accomplice to rape. Pictures of young women in “prairie dresses” were splashed on TV and the media rushed to try to explain who these people actually were. Were they Mormons? Were they a cult? Sons of Perdition, a documentary that premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, follows the story of a group of teenage boys who have left the FLDS church, and tracks their struggles in exile from their homes and families.

I wept on Friday evening when I heard the news of the death of Coach John Wooden. I had seen him the day before at UCLA looking frail and tired after 99 good years—as long and rewarding a life as one could hope. Coach Wooden was ready for a good death, surrounded by family and friends…

The story told by Agora is supposed to stand as a beacon—like the lighthouse that towered over Hypatia’s Alexandria—of the danger that religious passions pose to all that is wise and tolerant about the human spirit.

The most vocal advocate of sweeping conservative changes to Texas’ American History curriculum is happy about the changes, but tells RD that it’s only a part of the agenda.

While not stated directly, three recent public announcements offer cues as to how America is recasting itself as a global player…

The 2500-year-old idea of the multiverse is a way to sidestep theology: if there are an infinite number of universes that take on all possible parameters throughout eternity, then we don’t have to appeal to a god to explain the bounty or harmony of the world around us.