a review of religion and media
IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Thursday, September 15, 5-6:30 pm
Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East,Room 300
Marcia Inhorn (Anthropology, Yale University)
Global Gametes: Reproductive “Tourism” and Islamic Bioethics in the Hi-tech Middle East
Co-sponsored by The Department of Art History and The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies Continue Reading →
by Jeremy F. Walton
9/11 fatigue is a fully comprehensible, affective response to the cadences of nationalism that have accompanied public commemoration of the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. But this fatigue should not constitute the alibi for indifference, solipsism, or cynicism.
Several weeks after September 11, 2001, I participated in what was surely a frequent sort of event at the time: a hastily organized panel of academic experts summoned to reflect upon the radical political upheavals of the recent weeks. This particular panel occurred at the University of Chicago, where I was then a second-year graduate student in Anthropology; the first speaker was the Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot, an early mentor of mine. Rolph, as we affectionately called him, struck a dramatic note: “A pillar of impenetrable, black smoke in the firmament. The echo of jet engines above, weapons of war. On all sides: death.” He went on to describe the brutal and tragic events of September 11, but not the September 11 that we had gathered to reckon—his own narrative was set in Santiago, on September 11, 1973, the date of the coup d’état that constituted the bloody birth pangs of Augusto Pinochet’s military junta in Chile. Rolph’s rhetorical and political point was as sharp as his description was vivid: Already, in a mere two weeks, the meaning and collective memory of “September 11” had come to exclude everything other than the national trauma of the United States. To this day, I continue to wonder how Chileans interpret and experience each anniversary of September 11 (and note that September 11 can now only exist as an anniversary), especially if they happen to find themselves in the United States at the time. Continue Reading →
Catch The Revealer books editor Scott Korb moderating an event tomorrow night at Gallatin (Jerry H. Labowitz Theater for the Performing Arts, 1 Washington Place) at 7 pm.
The panel will include Alia Malek, editor of Patriot Acts, Adama Bah, Noor Elashi (daughter of Ghassan Elashi, who’s been placed in a “Communications Management Unit”), Ebadur Rahman, a student at NYU’s Gallatin School, and NYU’s Imam Khaled Latif.
For more information, see the Gallatin event page and the Voices of Witness page. Continue Reading →
This week the Obama Administration scrapped the Fairness Doctrine and 83 other media regulations. Kathryn Montalbano examines the ongoing struggle over radio, TV, and now, Internet access and content.
by Kathryn Montalbano
In June Ralph Reed, conservative American political activist and, during the 1990s, executive director of the Christian Coalition, hosted the Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington, DC, perhaps more appropriately referred to as the “Christian Coalition on steroids.” A smattering of Republican luminaries and presidential candidates, including Glenn Beck, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, were there to woo evangelical leadership and Tea Party activists, providing more proof the two are quite past any ideological differences.
The relationship functions, according to Reed, because the former group exhibits “a quintessentially anti-government, corporate-minded ‘Christian’ or ‘biblical’ view of the role of government.”
This alleged anti-government, corporate-minded philosophy hasn’t just helped at the polls. In the fierce debates surrounding Internet regulation and net neutrality—a term coined by former Columbia Law Professor and now member of the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Policy Planning, Tim Wu—Reed’s reasserting his influence. Continue Reading →
Abby Ohlheiser: If the Book of Mormon and Romney’s early campaign were a Mormon Moment, the past few weeks have been something of a “Dominionism” moment. Dominionism, a generalized term for a collection of Charismatic Christian movements that treat the structure and power of civil government, media, and other significant institutions as mission field, is a key part of reporting that understands the Religious Right (which, of course, is not synonymous with Evangelical Christians). Sarah Posner’s most recent piece on it is at Salon today. It’s part of Ryan Lizza’s profile of Michelle Bachmann, and of a substantial portion of the coverage of Rick Perry’s The Response, which I attended earlier this month. Continue Reading →
Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo, Sonja Burpo, Lynn Vincent, Colton Burpo (Thomas Nelson, 2010)
by Mary Valle
Perhaps all you really need to know about this book is that it is for sale at my local discount supermarket, the un-mellifluously named Industrial Food Product Outlet, a place I only visit when it’s absolutely necessary, if I need some generic famotidine for the dog (sensitive stomach!), long fireplace matches, or pineapple juice for making Huli-Huli Tofu (Trader Joe’s doesn’t have it and it’s way too expensive at Whole Foods). The IFPO, or the ‘Po as they’ve tried to rebrand themselves, is one of the circles of hell; naturally it has a swivel-mounted book rack of “inspirational” tomes. ‘Cause we humans didn’t build florescent-lighted boxes of doom or synthesize plastic-wrapped carcinogenic food products or make a world where you have to burn petroleum just to get to said ‘Po. Oh no. It’s all part of God’s plan.
The cover of Heaven is for Real depicts a small boy, smiling, in a flattop and an extremely ill-fitting short-sleeved white shirt, baggy yellow sweater vest, and dark, baggy pants. I can feel the squeaky acrylic of the small boy’s vest just by looking at the photo. It’s probably already in a landfill. Continue Reading →
by Abby Ohlheiser
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, hugged the praise musicians one by one as he took the stage for a second time at The Response two weekends ago, a day-long prayer and fasting rally in Houston, funded by the American Family Association (AFA). He had amassed a crowd of over 30,000 who were happy, dancing, and calling for a Christian infusion into what they see as an America in grave danger–in bad need of God’s mercy. I use the possessive here because Perry was, along with the praise music, was infusing the audience. In many ways this was his stage, his rally, his call to God. And, as we now know (but had already guessed), The Response was also a warm-up routine for Perry’s announcement of his presidential candidacy one week later. The theology of the event, both of a Christian religion and an American religion, was specific: the nation must revive. Young people must convert. And to the sort of Christianity that abides by Mike Bickle’s “pure reading” of Scripture. Bickle, who runs the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, was one of the most heavily featured speakers at The Response. As he said at the rally:
There’s a crisis of truth in the pulpits today in our land. That, in the name of tolerance, even in the name of love, we are redefining love that is not on God’s terms. Jesus is God. There is no other God than Jesus. Father, son, and Holy Spirit. All the world religions, they can say what they say. There is no other god besides Jesus. There is no other standard of truth.
by Abby Ohlheiser
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, hugged the praise musicians one by one as he took the stage for a second time at The Response two weekends ago, a day-long prayer and fasting rally in Houston, funded by the American Family Association (AFA). He had amassed a crowd of over 30,000 who were happy, dancing, and calling for a Christian infusion into what they see as an America in grave danger–in bad need of God’s mercy. I use the possessive here because Perry was, along with the praise music, was infusing the audience. In many ways this was his stage, his rally, his call to God. And, as we now know (but had already guessed), The Response was also a warm-up routine for Perry’s announcement of his presidential candidacy one week later. The theology of the event, both of a Christian religion and an American religion, was specific: the nation must revive. Young people must convert. And to the sort of Christianity that abides by Mike Bickle’s “pure reading” of Scripture. Bickle, who runs the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, was one of the most heavily featured speakers at The Response. As he said at the rally:
There’s a crisis of truth in the pulpits today in our land. That, in the name of tolerance, even in the name of love, we are redefining love that is not on God’s terms. Jesus is God. There is no other God than Jesus. Father, son, and Holy Spirit. All the world religions, they can say what they say. There is no other god besides Jesus. There is no other standard of truth.
Abby Ohlheiser: All the religious language of the last fortnight’s Perry and Ames fest ’11 (or should that be ’12) made me click on this tweet (despite the parenthetical clue) without thinking for a second that it would be a comment on anything other than something Bachmann or Perry have talked about recently. By the way: don’t google “perry bondage.”
It was, in fact, an article about the sort of bondage with a bigger but quieter internet presence: BDSM, which stands for bondage, discipline, sado-masochisim. Continue Reading →
Books and more books! Join us this fall for three reading events that will feature some of our very favorite religion writers. Continue Reading →