Online Journal

Front Page 
 
 Donate
 
 Submissions
 
 Announcements
 
 NewsLinks
 
 Special Reports
 
 News Media
 
 Elections & Voting
 
 Health
 
 Religion
 
 Social Security
 
 Analysis
 
 Commentary
 
 Editors' Blog
 
 Reclaiming America
 
 The Splendid Failure of Occupation
 
 The Lighter Side
 
 Reviews
 
 The Mailbag
 
 Online Journal Stores
 Official Merchandise
 Amazon.com
 Progressive Press
 Barnes and Noble
 
 Links
 
 Join Mailing List
Search

Religion Last Updated: Oct 30th, 2006 - 02:18:15


Religion
BattleCry; inside the stadium with Ron Luce's Holy War
By Sunsara Taylor

�Do you care more about the pigs around you or God?� BattleCry leader Ron Luce asked the crowd of more than 17,000 youth gathered at Wachovia Spectrum Stadium in Philadelphia on Friday, May 12. No, this wasn't a metaphor. After reading a passage from Luke 15 that mentions pigs, he actually had a bunch of those big, oinking, pink, farm animals on stage with him! Get it, you either get with Luce's hateful, hyperpatriotic, woman-bashing, racist god, or you're a . . . pig?

May 24, 2006, 01:12

Religion
"The Da Vinci Code" sends defenders of the faith into a tizzy
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

Even before Ron Howard�s film version of Dan Brown�s The Da Vinci Code hit the theaters, the Catholic Church and the Christian Right were disparaging and preparing �to Defend Against the �Code�.� Interesting how those whose dogma forbids independent thought and embraces only unconscious, unquestioning acceptance and obedience are so fearful of a movie that just might make people think.

May 23, 2006, 01:29

Religion
The wholly hypocritical Catholic Church
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

Monday, this report came out on the heels of Pope Benedict�s latest tirade against gays: �The Roman Catholic Church was in the midst of damage control on Sunday following the firing of a key aide to the Cardinal in London for being gay and the reported arrest of a top Vatican official in Rome for trying to pick up a gay or transsexual prostitute.�

May 18, 2006, 10:43

Religion
Freaked-out fundamentalists fear "The Da Vinci Code" for its fierce feminism
By Harvey Wasserman

Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene? Did they have a daughter?

May 18, 2006, 10:41

Religion
When discrimination is a religious virtue and civil equality an �anti-religious� attack
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

Mention �gay� and �civil rights� in the same sentence, and some people�s hackles go up. Yet most, if not all, of those same people have no problem acknowledging -- and protecting -- the �civil rights� of every other minority. So what�s the difference?

May 17, 2006, 11:46

Religion
Battle Cry for theocracy
By Sunsara Taylor

If you�ve been waiting until the Christian fascist movement started filling stadiums with young people and hyping them up to do battle in �God�s army� to get alarmed, wait no longer.

May 12, 2006, 01:26

Religion
Bluegrass bigotry: The case of Gov. Ernie Fletcher (and friends)
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

On Diversity Day 2006, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher revoked gays� and lesbians� guarantee of �equal treatment� in the workplace.

May 1, 2006, 01:17

Religion
Junk mail and religious propaganda: What happened to freedom from religion?
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

When I opened my mailbox the other day, along with the rest of the junk mail was a DVD. I figured it was from some company hawking its wares. It was . . .

Apr 20, 2006, 01:20

Religion
The triumvirate that muffles the moderate Muslims
By Abukar Arman

The charges have been loud and vociferous, and sometimes even outlandish. �There is no such thing as moderate Muslims;� �they are dangerous sleeper cells;� �they are in cahoots with the extremists and as such are themselves a ticking bomb;� and my personal favorite, �they have the sudden Jihadist syndrome,� or perhaps the capacity to combust, as in spontaneous human combustion.

Apr 18, 2006, 01:02

Religion
�Middat Sdom�: Lou Sheldon, Fred Phelps, and George W. Bush
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

America�s two most flaming homophobes � Rev. Lou Sheldon and Rev. Fred Phelps � now have something else in common: the language they use to describe those they fear and loathe.

Apr 11, 2006, 01:34

Religion
Are mainstream churches finally standing up to the GOP�s hateful �Christian� blitzkrieg?
By Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

Right-wing church movements have been a staple of American politics since well before the 1692 witch trials at Salem. But only in the past few decades has the extremist church served as the grassroots base for a new breed of corporate totalitarianism. That unholy union has been nowhere more powerful than here in Ohio, and it has finally provoked a response from the state�s mainstream churches.

Apr 11, 2006, 01:31

Religion
The truly offensive �S words�: Scarborough, Sheldon, Staver, and Scalia
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

Don Wildmon�s American Family Association has been raising its HQ (Hate Quotient) among the radical Christian Right. As Media Matters for America reported, the �American Family Association opened its airwaves to advocate for executing gays, adulterers, abortion doctors.� Those �Christian� suggestions came from the president of American Vision, Gary DeMar, whose organization recently hosted �The War on Christians and the Values Voters in 2006� conference.

Apr 6, 2006, 21:32

Religion
Professorial �termites� and the ongoing prosecution of diversity, equality, and civility
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

�Diversity Day.� Sounds like a good idea, but as 365Gay.com reported �for the second time Viroqua High School [in Wisconsin] has cancelled Diversity Day�. Speakers were to have included representatives of the African American, Latino, Jewish, Muslim, Native American and gay communities,� as well as speakers from other minority groups such as Hmong (an Asian ethnic group), Buddhists, the physically disadvantaged and the economically disadvantaged. So why was it cancelled again this year?

Mar 31, 2006, 20:23

Religion
A snapshot of America: The mayor with principles, the president with a porn star, a proud homophobe, a judge-moralist, and spanking
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

A man of principles: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. A life-long Catholic, Mayor Newsom �cancelled a trip to Rome for the installation of the city�s former archbishop as a cardinal reportedly after learning the church is considering a ban on gay adoption in San Francisco. � He was to have attended the ceremony elevating Archbishop William Levada to cardinal and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.�

Mar 21, 2006, 01:01

Religion
Easter Eggs and Equality Riders: The �hypocrisy and intellectual constipation of Bible literalists�
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr.�s article �Time to stop hiding behind the Bible: Scripture seems to be taken literally only when it�s convenient -- such as with gay issues� put it bluntly and simply: �I�ve had it up to here with the moral hypocrisy and intellectual constipation of Bible literalists.� Mr. Pitts was writing an open letter to Donna Reddick, �a teacher who condemned homosexuality as part of a broadcast at Miami Sunset Senior High.�

Mar 15, 2006, 00:35

Religion
�Dr. Dino,� Merrill Keiser, Jr., and Thomas S. Monaghan: Religion goes well with ignorance, hate and pizza
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

�Dr. Dino� is Kent Hovind, whose claim to the �Dr.� and academic credentials is questionable, at best. Appropriately, he�s the founder of Florida-based Creation Science Evangelism, which, among its other quaint novelties, offers Dinosaur Adventure Land:

Mar 10, 2006, 00:34

Religion
Unintelligent Design and the Christian Right�s other wars on reality
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

In his article �Rebuking the �Clergy Letter Project,�� Rev. Mark H. Creech harshly criticized the 10,200-plus clergy who �signed a letter stating they rejected a literal interpretation of the creation story.�

Mar 7, 2006, 01:30

Religion
Pat Robertson: Raked over the coals while raking in the dough
By Bill Berkowitz

While the Rev. Pat Robertson was recently raked over the coals for suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was an act of retribution by God for the transfer of land in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians, the reverend's charitable organization, Operation Blessing, was raking in wads of faith-based money from the Bush administration.

Mar 3, 2006, 01:18

Religion
The Christian Right has gone over the edge
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

The Agape Press headline said it all: �Grandmother Gets Help Asserting Preschooler�s Right to Share His Faith.� The story was even more bizarre.

Feb 24, 2006, 22:45

Religion
A Christian right catfight over civil rights and another costly Bush initiative to promote discrimination
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.

The Montana News Association headline read �Focus on the Family Founder, James Dobson, Losing Credibility with Christian Conservatives; Dobson Trying to Cover Up His Support of Gay Endorsement of S.B. 166 �Reciprocal Beneficiaries� Bill.� So what�s S.B. 166?

Feb 19, 2006, 17:03


Latest Headlines
Donate
Your support keeps the spirit of resistance alive
Submissions
Submission guidelines
Announcements
Meria Heller Show Schedule
Online Journal celebrates its 8th anniversary today
For the next month or so, things may be erratic here
Our dying server has been replaced
Welcome to the new Online Journal site
NewsLinks
Links to other sources of news and commentary
Special Reports
Halliburton motto: It's cost-plus, baby
Sibel Edmonds vindicated? FBI reveals investigation continues
Call the US State Department �countermisinformation� office what it actually is: official misinformation
DHS, DOJ brass turned a blind eye to House of Death murder, federal prosecutor confirms
The real �state of denial�: 9/11 red herrings as bipartisan election-year volleyball
News Media
Sebastian Mallaby�s distortions of what �every honest politician knows�
Mike Malloy is b-a-a-a-a-c-k
Bush�s absolute power grab
Truthiness and lies
The message will out
Elections & Voting
Will Ken Blackwell find the ways to steal Ohio 2006 as he did in 2004?
Electronic voting machines "hack" off Democrat Jim Webb's name from November ballot
Stealing the midterm elections and the power of myth
Ecuador as banana republic?
A loaves & fishes/Holy Ghost victory for the GOP in November?
Health
Science, medicine, and the gullible Left
Alaska Supreme Court rules forced drugging is unconstitutional
Nursing home fraud neglect & abuse much too common
"Those in power are poisoning children" (Mussels not flexed?)
Lawsuits multiply for Johnson & Johnson�s Charite spinal disc
Religion
Theo-political prostitution: Bush and the Christian Right
Ban Ki-moon: Is he or isn't he a Moonie?
The conversion factor
The bully pulpit, sanctimonious Santorum, and the meaning of �zero�
A new low, even for the Traditional Values Coalition
Social Security
Bush bounces back for more on Social Security
When journalists manufacture a crisis: What decline for Social Security and Medicare?
Happy 70th anniversary, Social Security
Victory over Bush�s Social Security plan
Younger workers and Social Security: Privatization of the program undermines their future
Analysis
The U.S. housing bust: Excess investment and its discontents
Headwinds for the US economy
A subtle kind of fascism
Removing Hamas: Brinkmanship tactics or coup d'�tat
Accelerating the collapse of Iraq
Commentary
Skilling: An epitaph
The politics of delusion and crisis denial
American voters must not reward failure
Foreclosure USA
Degradation of democracy
Editors' Blog
"24" reflects betrayed America
Who benefits in sudden furor over Bush administration's domestic spying?
Miami airport shooting: Post-9/11 fear and police state in full flower
Tamiflu linked to 64 cases of psychological disorders and 2 suicides; China reports 3 persons infected with bird flu
For Bush faction, �Scalito� completes criminal circle
Reclaiming America
Energy depletion & the US descent into fascism
The government no longer serves the people
The "F" word and how to escape from its clutches
Within the gated subdivision of the American mind: A monument to my comfort zone
Blame It on the Hundredth Monkey
The Splendid Failure of Occupation
Part 45: How the U.S. engineered the Iraqi holocaust
Part 44: Burning the cradle of civilization
Part 43: The scheme behind the bombardment of Iraq
Part 42: Postwar aftermath or imperialist mutatis mutandis?
Part 41: The choice: obedience or annihilation
The Lighter Side
Spinning
Mickey Z. interviews Condi
How you can learn to stop worrying and love the bomb
The nuts and Dolts of America�s downfall
Professionalism on the march
Reviews
The Case for Impeachment: A thunderous cry for Bush�s removal and why
Stealing America...Vote by Vote
Disseminating truth is a perilous endeavor
Spooks, the Godfather and JFK
Spychips make Orwell's Big Brother seem relatively harmless
The Mailbag
Letters from readers
Online Journal Stores
Our featured books and 35 more categories to choose from
Free shipping on orders of $25 or more
Progressive Press/Banned Books USA
Shirts, caps, mugs, etc.
Links
Independent news sources
Important resources
Political sites
Join Mailing List
No paid subscription required