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At n+1 Panel, the Cat Got Douthat's Tongue on Topic of of Gay Marriage | The New York Observer
A tiny little column that opens up a really interesting issue, when conservative -- sort of -- commentator Ross Douthat admits that he opposes same-sex marriage but is "uncomfortable discussing the issue in public," mainly because he can't think of a non-religious reason for his views. Fascinating example of the way public and private discourses can collide in one individual's experience.
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At first Mr. Douthat seemed unable to get a sentence out without interrupting himself and starting over. Then he explained: "I am someone opposed to gay marriage who is deeply uncomfortable arguing the issue in public."
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Mr. Douthat indicated that he opposes gay marriage because of his religious beliefs, but that he does not like debating the issue in those terms. At one point he said that, sometimes, he feels like he should either change his mind, or simply resolve never to address the question in public.
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McNaughton Fine Art -- "One Nation Under God"
Remarkable piece of religious art that shows Jesus holding a copy of the Constitution with a tableau of quintessentially American figures behind him -- from Harriet Tubman and Ben Franklin to Christa McAuliffe and JFK. In front of Christ are a group of good people on the right (a teacher, a mother with a "handicap child", a solder and a college student carrying an influential Mormon text) and bad people on the left (a Supreme Court justice, a "liberal reporter," a smug-looking professor with a copy of Darwin's Origin, "Mr. Hollywood," and Satan).
Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers - Burial & Memorials
"Bible verses banned from Georgia school football field," USATODAY.com (Oct. 2, 2009)
In a north Georgia town, the high school football team used to run through banners at the start of each game inscribed with Bible verses. The superintendent just discontinued this practice after being advised that it was, ahem, illegal.
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Add Sticky Note"I'm just kind of unnerved about it," said 18-year-old Cassandra Cooksey, a recent graduate who often prayed with her fellow marching band members before football games. "It seems like the majority of people in our community want this and they don't have a problem with it, so I think they should be allowed to have the signs if they want to."
- The only problem with this reasoning being the fact that it's illegal. - on 2009-10-03
When is a cross not a Christian symbol? (Debate on Salazar v. Buono, LA Times)
Erwin Chemerinsky (dean of UC Irvine law school) and Joseph Infranco (of the Alliance Defense Fund) comment on arguments pro and con the large cross-shaped war memorial in the Mojave desert.
Salazar v. Buono: Can Government Give One Religion's Symbol Prominence in a Public Park? - Pew Research Center
Pew Forum backgrounder on the Establishment Clause case surrounding the large cross-shaped war memorial in the Mojave desert. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Oct. 7, 2009.
Alliance Defense Fund's press release on the Kurowsky-Voydatch case, in New Hampshire, Aug. 2009, regarding a home-schooled ten-year-old
In this case, two divorced parents disagreed about whether their ten-year-old daughter ought to be home-schooled. The non-custodial parent, the father, said no; the mother, who is extremely religious, said yes. The court sided with the father after a counselor determined that the girl was too "rigid" in "matters of faith." An interesting and complicated case. The ADF includes links to PDF versions of several legal documents.
Thomas Jefferson, "Notes on the State of Virginia" (1781-82), UVA e-text
Query seventeen has the famous quotation, "[I]t does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." This digitized text is from the Library of America version, and that quotation is on p. 285.
State's revised booklet on polygamy takes neutral tone - Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's official "Primer" on "so-called fundamentalist Mormon communities" (where polygamy is sometimes practiced) has been rewritten, apparently so as to avoid offending the polygamists. References to high rates of abuse and violence in plural families have been removed. Women no longer "flee" or "escape", they "elect to leave." References to them as "victims" are gone. And, interestingly, readers are instructed to avoid the word "compound."
Cynthia Boaz: What if the Right was Right? A Reflection on the "Christian States of America."
The Associated Press: Is Ga. kosher law kosher?
Mark Zimmerman, an Atlanta Conservative rabbi, is suing over a Georgia state regulation that stipulates that kosher certification be awarded according to the "standard of Orthodox Judaism." Orthodox Rabbi Reuven Stein, director of the Atlanta Kashruth Commission, responded that "[t]he purpose of the law is to protect kosher consumers... One of the reasons they chose the Orthodox standard is that it is a standard that everybody agrees on... When you take away protections from people that keep kosher and you're doing it to score political points, you are being anti-religious."
US court: Prison okay to stop man's kosher meals - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews
Here's the article's dek: "Michigan appeals court rejects lawsuit filed by inmate who stopped receiving costly kosher meals at St. Louis Correctional Facility after he being caught buying non-kosher munchies at prison store." Sums it up pretty well. The inmate in question has not received a kosher meal since 2005, apparently.
Christians Challenged to Be More Proactive in Strengthening Marriage | Christianpost.com
News article on a report from the Institute for Religion and Democracy on how the "ideal of romantic love" is ultimately destructive to traditional norms of marriage. For that matter, so is the idea that marriage is a legal contract. The whole purpose of this report is to marshal arguments against same-sex marriage, presumably. The report is here: http://bit.ly/YuWQx
After more than 15 hours, jury convicts Dale Neumann | wausaudailyherald.com | Wausau Daily Herald
The most complete coverage I've found thus far of the Dale Neumann trial in Marathon County, WI. Archived: http://sqrl.it/?h4anv
Praying Dad Let His Daughter Die - IslamOnline.net - News (Google cache)
"'If I go to the doctor, I am putting the doctor before God,' Neumann testified. 'I am not believing what he said he would do.' Neumann's lawyer said he had been convinced that his 'faith healing' was working, and that he had committed no crime. Holding a Bible in his hand during his trial, the Wisconsin man described to jurors his journey from life as a young man who partied and drank hard to a family man who sought to walk in the steps of Jesus. Quoting scripture and speaking with great conviction, Neumann made it obvious that he had no regrets about his decision. 'If I in a moment of crisis and in a moment of time, I went to anyone else but the Lord, it would not have been favorable to God,' he said." Archived: http://sqrl.it/?5my3g
Diabetic girl died after father turned to prayer instead of doctors | World news | guardian.co.uk
"Neumann [, the victim's father], who once studied to be a Pentecostal minister, testified on Thursday that he believed God would heal his daughter and he never expected her to die. God promises in the Bible to heal, he said. 'If I go to the doctor, I am putting the doctor before God,' Neumann testified. 'I am not believing what he said he would do.'"
George W. Bush's declaration of a National Day of Prayer, May 3, 2005 (archived White House press release)
Since 1982, the NDOP is always on the first Thursday of May, just for the record.
Text of H. Con. Res. 34, sponsored by Randy Forbes (R-VA-4), declaring inter alia that the Bible is God's word
Full text of a House resolution sponsored by Randy Forbes (R-VA-4), declaring inter alia that the Bible is God's word. Bill summary: "Calling upon the Capitol Preservation Commission and the Office of the Architect of the Capitol to place the Lincoln-Obama Bible on permanent display upon the Lincoln table at the Capitol Visitor Center for the benefit of all its visitors to fully understand and appreciate America's history and Godly heritage." It continues, "Whereas the Holy Bible is God’s Word..." It's currently in committee.
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