There is much to learn from and praise in “Dignitas Infinita” (infinite dignity), the April 8 Vatican declaration. But its understanding of human dignity is wedded to binary opposites. This view puts the Vatican in an unholy alliance with Idaho’s legislature, which in order to wipe out the rights of transgender people has declared that there only two sexes, male and female.
Twice each year, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tune into what is known as general conference. Most are seeking guidance from leaders and listen to their messages with reverence and deep interest.
The aim of the Religion Reporting Project is to talk with students about religion in the media, introduce them to experts in the field and — the best part — take them on visits to houses of worship throughout the region.
In a world where what and how people think is already under siege thanks to the algorithms of social media, we risk putting ourselves in an even more perilous position if we allow AI to reach a level of sophistication where it can make all kinds of decisions on our behalf.
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If religion and politics matter then they must intersect and be interwoven otherwise neither matter or lead to change.
Colleen McLean is a life long Roman Catholic with a few pagan adventures along the way. She has been active in lay ministry in two states and four dioceses.
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Mark Hilditch
10 years ago
Churches should not be tax-exempt and they ought to be free to endorse any candidate or issue they choose. Now, if your community of faith publicly advocates for a candidate or issue, you ought to be able to expect the leadership to make a persuasive, Al: Biblical defense of the basis for that support. Using President Clinton to illustrate a point about adultery might be considered partisan, but that is not politics, it is simply using a politician for an example. Preaching in favor of legislation seeking to implement the death penalty for adultery would be politics. And Eric: Comparisons between OT Israel (a theocracy) and modern America (a dying democracy) are tricky at best. Tough to draw dependable parallels where the relationships between the governmental and religious authorities are so radically different.
Mark,
Tricky? I don’t think so at all from my reading. I’m not talking about establishing a theocracy, but speaking to the issues of justice, righteousness and mercy that are perfectly applicable to all modern policy matters with cultural clarity applied.
Mark Hilditch
10 years ago
Yes, tricky. I’m all about speaking to issues of justice, righteousness, and mercy. But, the tricky part turns on the opening comment above about tax-exempt status and how that impacts preaching and teaching from modern American pulpits. We can strenuously advocate that pastors should be so bold, but the reality is that the tax-exempt status does mute many leaders of communities of faith.
I never have a hard time steering away from people and focusing on policies, principles and programs. The underlying values that lead to various policies are free game for teaching. Tax exempt guidelines are easy to follow if you don’t see the church as an arm to some political party.
Churches should not be tax-exempt and they ought to be free to endorse any candidate or issue they choose. Now, if your community of faith publicly advocates for a candidate or issue, you ought to be able to expect the leadership to make a persuasive, Al: Biblical defense of the basis for that support. Using President Clinton to illustrate a point about adultery might be considered partisan, but that is not politics, it is simply using a politician for an example. Preaching in favor of legislation seeking to implement the death penalty for adultery would be politics. And Eric: Comparisons between OT Israel (a theocracy) and modern America (a dying democracy) are tricky at best. Tough to draw dependable parallels where the relationships between the governmental and religious authorities are so radically different.
Mark,
Tricky? I don’t think so at all from my reading. I’m not talking about establishing a theocracy, but speaking to the issues of justice, righteousness and mercy that are perfectly applicable to all modern policy matters with cultural clarity applied.
Yes, tricky. I’m all about speaking to issues of justice, righteousness, and mercy. But, the tricky part turns on the opening comment above about tax-exempt status and how that impacts preaching and teaching from modern American pulpits. We can strenuously advocate that pastors should be so bold, but the reality is that the tax-exempt status does mute many leaders of communities of faith.
I never have a hard time steering away from people and focusing on policies, principles and programs. The underlying values that lead to various policies are free game for teaching. Tax exempt guidelines are easy to follow if you don’t see the church as an arm to some political party.