White evangelical voters just aren’t as predictable as they used to be. That’s the news out of Iowa – and it’s bound to be reflected in Republican primary results all over the country. The most interesting poll data from the Iowa caucuses are these: Mitt Romney won in the cities. Rick Santorum won in the rural areas. In Iowa, where the […]
The new evangelical vote Read More »
One year, I tried to skip Christmas. I was 30 and single. I lived alone. My family of origin doesn’t celebrate the birth of Jesus, and I’d spent enough Christmas mornings with other people’s families, opening a token gift from Santa, to find no novelty there. So I heeded the directives I’d read in a
Finding meaning beyond the Christmas bows, bells and baby Jesus Read More »
I think of the Jews of the Beit Alpha synagogue as I sit here in my New York City apartment, watching our Christmas tree being hoisted, the boxes of lights and ornaments in heaps, the child scampering in excitement, orchestrating, advising — kibitzing, as my father would say. I cannot imagine that the 6th-century men of the
How to be Jewish at Christmas Read More »
On meeting her, you’d hope so. Bright-eyed, string-bean skinny and 52 years old, Budde (pronounced bud-EE) has the athletic bearing and viselike handshake of your high school lacrosse coach. She is unapologetically liberal, and the way she answers hot-button questions — “I’m in favor of gay marriage, always have been. At this point it’s a no-brainer” — is
Right Rev. Mariann Budde reaching out for a more vital Episcopal Church Read More »
I once watched an apology rebuffed. A young child said something hurtful to a grown-up dinner guest. After prompting from her mother, the child apologized. “I’m sorry,” the 6-year-old said in a dutiful and not completely sincere tone. “Sorry,” replied the grown-up, “is not enough.” I think of this frequently when I watch the renewed
Will voters forgive Newt Gingrich? Read More »
As the American left continues to seek a coherent way to articulate its moral priorities in these days of political stalemates and widening income gaps, it might look to the most unlikely of places — the academy — for guidance and inspiration. At elite universities and seminaries thrives a constituency of African American intellectuals who
Is the black church the answer to liberal prayers? Read More »
Satan made an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” last week, all duded up in his red tie and cape, to talk about the sex abuse scandal at Penn State. “I may be the Prince of Darkness,” he quipped, “but I’m not a monster.” Before the voters of Mississippi headed to the polls recently to vote
Last week, Rick Warren sent this message to the nearly 500,000 people who follow him on Twitter: “Husbands & wives should satisfy each other’s sexual needs. 1 Cor 7:3.” His Twitter feed lit up with amens and retweets. “Oh gosh,” exclaimed one follower. Evangelical Christians want to talk about sex. And not in the same
Christian leaders talk about marriage and sex Read More »
When I spoke to one of the nation’s most prominent antiabortion activists this week, she was in the car, rushing to meet her 10-year-old daughter at the school bus. “It’s not a very neat exercise,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, when I asked how she manages her work-life balance. Dannenfelser is the president of the Susan B. Anthony List,
A feminine face for the antiabortion movement Read More »
That Justice Antonin Scalia believes in execution as a moral form of punishment is a well-known fact. That he is an observant, traditional Roman Catholic is, similarly, well-known. That he appears to believe his church supports the death penalty and that he’s willing to stake his job on that conviction is nothing short of astonishing. But there
Justice Scalia speaks for himself on death penalty, not the Catholic Church Read More »