The Patient Body: Using Disability
“The Patient Body” is a monthly column by Ann Neumann about issues at the intersection of religion and medicine. Continue Reading →
Tag: sarah palin
Bachmann's "Evangelical Feminism"
Kathryn Montalbano: What is meant by “feminist”–the inherently problematic, unfixed term that often causes pangs of discomfort when mustered as a fighting word–varies not merely across historical and contemporary time and space but also within individual countries and regions. In the 1970s, for instance, the feminist movement in America was starkly divided in the public eye between the likes of sexy Helen Gurley Brown, author of Sex and the Single Girl and editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, and powerhouse Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique who is credited with launching “second-wave” feminism.
Bachmann’s “Evangelical Feminism”
Kathryn Montalbano: What is meant by “feminist”–the inherently problematic, unfixed term that often causes pangs of discomfort when mustered as a fighting word–varies not merely across historical and contemporary time and space but also within individual countries and regions. In the 1970s, for instance, the feminist movement in America was starkly divided in the public eye between the likes of sexy Helen Gurley Brown, author of Sex and the Single Girl and editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, and powerhouse Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique who is credited with launching “second-wave” feminism.
Bachmann’s “Evangelical Feminism”
Kathryn Montalbano: What is meant by “feminist”–the inherently problematic, unfixed term that often causes pangs of discomfort when mustered as a fighting word–varies not merely across historical and contemporary time and space but also within individual countries and regions. In the 1970s, for instance, the feminist movement in America was starkly divided in the public eye between the likes of sexy Helen Gurley Brown, author of Sex and the Single Girl and editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, and powerhouse Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique who is credited with launching “second-wave” feminism.
From the Mouths of Babes
Abby Ohlheiser:
Miss Nancy Ellicott smoked
And danced all the modern dances;
And her aunts were not quite sure how they felt about it,
But they knew that it was modern.
— T.S. Eliot
Here’s a video of a 17-year-old girl praising God, palms up, in a snow-white dress, as she receives the crown and sash of Miss America. Teresa Scanlan, competing as Miss Nebraska, is a home-schooled aspiring President of the United States. Her blog is titled “A Royal Princess,” with the sub headline, “promoting positive body image and self-acceptance, one person at a time.” Before winning Miss Nebraska, she prayed:
Dear God, please help me to be a diligent servant not only today but from here on out. Give me the strength and wisdom to accurately handle your word of truth and the diligence and perseverance necessary to be a worker who is not ashamed. I wish to be a shining light for you, a glowing example of who you are, and a grain of salt in a tasteless world.
Palin's 'Blood Libel'
Sarah Palin has a video out this morning that addresses the criticism she’s received in the wake of the Arizona shootings, sort of. It’s an odd piece of self-defense, chock full of God, American exceptionalism and claims of victimhood. Media Matters sums it up: “Violent rhetoric doesn’t inspire violence — but criticism of violent rhetoric does.”
Beyond the bizarre logic is the pointed use of the term “blood libel” which refers to a hoax and lie used to justify sustained and brutal violence against Jews. Anthea Butler at Religion Dispatches fills us in:
Blood libel, a term rooted in medieval Christianity, started as a rumor that Jews were killing Christian babies, and using their blood to mix into matzoh. The blood libel, refuted first by Pope Innocent IV through a series of papal bulls, has nonetheless persisted throughout history as a way for Christians at times to scapegoat Jews. Palin, by calling the media’s alleged persecution of her a “blood libel” plays into this evil history by inference. But does she understand how this comment of blood libel appears anti-Semitic? Not only is Rep. Giffords Jewish, but accusing the media of “blood libel” could be seen as playing into anti-Semitic memes that Jews control the media.
Palin’s ‘Blood Libel’
Sarah Palin has a video out this morning that addresses the criticism she’s received in the wake of the Arizona shootings, sort of. It’s an odd piece of self-defense, chock full of God, American exceptionalism and claims of victimhood. Media Matters sums it up: “Violent rhetoric doesn’t inspire violence — but criticism of violent rhetoric does.”
Beyond the bizarre logic is the pointed use of the term “blood libel” which refers to a hoax and lie used to justify sustained and brutal violence against Jews. Anthea Butler at Religion Dispatches fills us in:
Blood libel, a term rooted in medieval Christianity, started as a rumor that Jews were killing Christian babies, and using their blood to mix into matzoh. The blood libel, refuted first by Pope Innocent IV through a series of papal bulls, has nonetheless persisted throughout history as a way for Christians at times to scapegoat Jews. Palin, by calling the media’s alleged persecution of her a “blood libel” plays into this evil history by inference. But does she understand how this comment of blood libel appears anti-Semitic? Not only is Rep. Giffords Jewish, but accusing the media of “blood libel” could be seen as playing into anti-Semitic memes that Jews control the media.
What Beck's Marching For: Making Social Justice Unjust
by Becky Garrison
Look for the words social justice or economic justice on your church website. If you find it, run as fast as you can. –Glenn Beck, March 2, 2010
Since Beck uttered this and related comments on his radio show, much ink has been spilled decrying his analysis of one of the basic tenets of Christian teaching. While The Catholic League came to Beck’s defense, “progressives” like Sojourners founder Jim Wallis suggested that viewers and advertisers instead leave Beck, though they later gave Beck some PR attention by placing him on the cover of Sojourners (September 2010.) Other progressive groups like Faithful America continue to mount campaigns against Beck’s rantings in the hopes such advocacy efforts will result in strategically placed media and will increase both the nonprofit’s political profile and donor base.
But the battle to defame “social justice” is as old as the New Testament itself, a point made by Fr. James Martin, author of The Jesuit’s Guide to Almost Everything, on the Colbert Report last March. Martin describes how throughout the gospels, ”Jesus choose to be poor not only to show us what it means to live simply but also to show God’s love for the poor.” Continue Reading →
Contesting the Sharia: The Ideological Interpretation (and Misinterpretation) of Islamic Law
by Najam Haider
The proposed construction of a mosque in the vicinity of Ground Zero in New York City has raised an outcry from a number of critics including (but not limited to) former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and former Speaker of the House (and potential 2012 presidential candidate) Newt Gingrich. In a July 28, 2010 article published by Gingrich in the conservative magazine Human Events, he writes:
Radical Islamism is more than simply a religious belief. It is a comprehensive political, economic, and religious movement that seeks to impose Sharia – Islamic law – upon all aspects of global society.
He goes on to explain that Sharia “does not permit freedom of conscience” or “religious liberty” and is “explicitly at odds with core American and Western values.” He then chronicles a phenomena that he dubs “creeping Sharia” whereby government institutions refuse to implement the protections of American law in deference to this apparently draconian religious legal code. Continue Reading →
Jews for Palin
The Forward‘s Gal Beckerman asks, “Who are the Jews Behind Palin 2010?” Continue Reading →