When Shrugging is Not an Option
- May/June 2025
- April 30, 2025
The recent brouhaha surrounding the selection of Nina Davuluri, an American of Indian descent, as the next Miss America was another reminder of the racial divide that still exists in the United States. News networks cited the disparaging comments that were posted to Twitter about the ethnicity of the new Miss America as evidence of
READ MOREThe headline read “Suicide Attack at Christian Church in Pakistan Kills Dozens.” Another headline read “Jews Challenge Rules to Claim Heart of Jerusalem.” Another “Gunmen Kill Dozens in Terror Attack at Kenyan Mall.” Despite the obvious commonalities, these headlines share three more: all were in the same newspaper, on the same day, same page (New
READ MOREThe meeting of Shakers started with silent meditation. Ann Lee, a young woman of medium height and serious manner, told them about her vision. She claimed that just as the male and female are seen throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, so had God appeared in both forms. “It is not I that speak,” she
READ MOREThe public discussion of religion and religious freedom is generally dominated by two increasingly polarized viewpoints. The first view, largely promoted by President Obama and Democrats, values a religion-free, basically secular public square, with a certain amount of lip service paid to freedom for religious persons and groups, but a general denial of that freedom
READ MOREAs Egypt’s Copts have battled the worst attacks on the Christian minority since the fourteenth century, the bad news for Christians in the region keeps coming. On SundayTaliban suicide bombers killed at least 85 worshippers at All Saints’ Church, which has stood since 1883 in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. Christians were also the target
READ MOREFor many people, one of the most fearful terms to be found in the New Testament is the word “blasphemy.” Blasphemy is represented as a horrible sin, but what is it? Have I been guilty of it? Can one obtain pardon for it? These are serious questions that can engage the attention of the devout
READ MOREReligious blasphemy laws can be a touchy subject, especially in Pakistan, where just bringing up the subject of the blasphemy laws and whether they are right or wrong is considered, well …blasphemous. This wasn’t always the case. The sentiment behind most blasphemy laws is easy to understand. No person or group should insult another religion’s
READ MOREOn June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two highly anticipated rulings in same-sex marriage cases. First, the Court ruled that the federal government has to legally recognize the marriages of same-sex couples in those states that have legalized them. In a second decision, the Court declined to hear an appeal in defense of
READ MOREImagine being hung upside down by your feet. Electric wires are tied around your ankles and you are threatened repeatedly with electrocution. In addition, you are frequently pulled from your prison cell so that the police can beat you viciously. Why? Because someone accused you of making inflammatory statements about God. And even though your
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