Category: Post-modern culture

Stress cracks

The Beatitudes, secular culture, and the problem of violence in a society that has forgotten about God.
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The new face of human slavery

Sex trafficking and human slavery are rising rapidly around the world in places where the poor and weak are being victimized, and good people look the other way.
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Free Big Macs for all!

If Catholics can now be forced to buy our condoms, can vegans be forced to buy us Big Macs?
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In search of peace

Where can we go to find peace when life blindsides us?
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The heroes of United 93

Heroism is always an act of love. It is a willful decision to put someone else's safety and well-being ahead of your own, to set aside self-interest and self-preservation for the good of another.
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Despairs of the heart

The horrific shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was not driven by the killer's ideology, but by his spiritual and moral emptiness. The true source of his rage was the existential meaninglessness of a life cut off from the source of all hope, Jesus Christ, our redeemer and creator.
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God, airlines, and questions of sovereignty

Southwest Airlines has recently amended its list of the Acts of God for which it is not liable. It's interesting that in this post-modern age, we still talk about the acts of a sovereign God.
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Underwater Thanksgiving

Millions are out of work, thousands have lost their homes, and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. What do we have to be thankful for?

Flawed justice

The law has little in common with real justice, and frequently attempts to excise the malignancy of evil with a machete instead of a scalpel.
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Turning lead into gold

While we deplore the murder of Dr. George Tiller, we sometimes find the "end justifies the means" philosophy that drove his murderer quite useful.
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Blind faith

It's ironic how much blind faith is required to live in the modern world. Technology forces us to put our complete trust in things we do not, and cannot, understand. We must live by faith or live in paralysis.
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Confessing our national guilt

When a nation sins, how should it repent and attempt to heal the wounds of the past? Australia's National Sorry Day gives us a useful model.
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The Mozart paradox

Science wants to de-mystify mystery. It is committed to finding material explanations for those paradoxical outliers, like musical giftedness, that make us want to give credit to God. It wants to say that Mozart wasn't any different from the rest of us. Really?
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A game-changing breakthrough in stem cells

A breakthrough in adult stem cell research makes embryonic stem cell experimentation obsolete.
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The politics of beauty

When a beauty pageant turns into one of those 'ah-hah' cultural moments.
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One small breath for mankind

Now that breathing has been shown to contribute to global warming, do we just hold our breath? AnotherThink Industries, LLC, has a better way.
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Mission from Africa

Andrew Rice, writing in the New York Times, examines Nigeria's Redeemed Christian Church of God and their plans to shake up American Christianity.
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Deconstructing Bart Ehrman

Biblical scholar and NT professor Ben Witherington takes on the arguments against Jesus presented in Bart Ehrman's popular new book, "Jesus, Interrupted."
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Redeeming America

With a strong majority in Washington, liberals have embarked on a quixotic mission to heal America's ills. Can they succeed?
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William Saletan on the stem cell debate

William Saletan voices concerns about the President's order to open up embryonic stem cell research.
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Fine young cannibals

Yes, we can. That was the mantra of the Obama candidacy, and so far, the guiding principle of his young administration. Yes we can farm human embryos for adult spare parts. Yes we can. Yes we can. But no, we shouldn't.
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A debate rages in New Mexico

In a faraway corner of America, your intrepid reporter discovers a still-raging debate on a question long ago settled in the sacred halls of academia.
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Street dreams

The trouble with raising expectations high is that people might just take you seriously.
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Don't worry, be happy!

Prof. Richard Dawkins goes fishing for converts.
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Christianity and racial politics

At a time when America should be proud of the achievement of a certain black man, the politics of race threatens to incite us to war. Whatever the outcome on Nov. 4, it will be up to black and white Christians to set an example, putting aside our political differences to embrace each other at the foot of the cross.

Bulletin: Democrats more fair than God

Here's proof that life isn't fair: The "super wealthy" New York Yankees have won the World Series 26 times. The "middle class" Chicago Cubs haven't won in 100 years. What exactly is Congress doing to fix this World Series unfairness?
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Moral politics is no oxymoron

With every election cycle, we can choose to make this broken political system a little bit better, or a little worse.
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The myth of private vice

Are there really any "private" moral choices, or is it true that our immoral acts affect the society we are part of?
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Experience is not enough

With all the recent political talk about the importance of experience, doesn't it seem ironic that Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and so many other Wall Street juggernauts have been sailed into the rocks by some of our nation's most highly experienced corporate managers? Am I missing something?
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The need for speed

Air travel was once luxurious. The chic, cross-country traveler dressed up for the occasion. Hot meals were served on china. Now, it's all about getting there as fast as possible. We have a need for speed.
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Survival instinct

Is there a God who embraces us when we cry out in the darkness, or is there just the empty echo of our own voices? Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas has found a surprising answer to that question.
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Deconstructing Woody

In a recent interview for Newsweek, Woody Allen talks about the "existential horror of being alive."
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Are we alone?

God is (unhelpfully) invisible and apparently silent. When I am sitting on a rock in the desert sun, I may believe God is watching, I may even believe there are leprechauns hiding among the trees, but that hardly makes it so. Are we alone?
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Political psychosis

Is a new ad by the McCain campaign meant to strike fear in the hearts of evangelicals?
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What are you worth?

The Judeo-Christian concept of human worth is that we are God's priceless, crowning act of creation. The US Environmental Protection Agency takes a more utilitarian view, valuing human beings at $7.22 million each. So, which is it? Are we priceless, or are we mere commodities, stamped with a price tag like everything else?
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Under the influence of radicalism

We borrow everything we believe from someone else. All of us are persuaded by the words and actions of others, and once we are persuaded, we build our lives around their beliefs. Whose words move you? Whose philosophy guides you?
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Encouraging discouragement

Politics is fueled by discontent, but the governing dynamic of life in Christ is to be gratitude, because God has shown us mercy.
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It's all in your head

Why do we believe in God? Could it be that faith is just an evolutionary hat trick?
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Another one bites the dust

Heath Ledger has a real shot at becoming this generation's James Dean. His life will be polished by his publicists, his films will be watched with new interest by adoring fans, and we will all boo-hoo about a great talent snatched from us in the prime of life.
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Who's in charge?

The dilemma for Christian political candidates is, where should their loyalties lie?
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Depressed by jazz

I don't understand improvisational jazz. Or maybe the real issue is, I do.
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The world has changed

Researchers discover a way to turn ordinary human skin cells into embryonic-like stem cells.
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Lost in a moral fog, Part 2

Living with a consistent, dogged commitment to moral principle is hard work, and very often it can be exasperatingly inconvenient.

Lost in a moral fog, Part 1

Living with a consistent, dogged commitment to moral principle is hard work, and very often it can be exasperatingly inconvenient.

IVF and the ethical dilemmas of infertility

Childless couples are turning to in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive children. The Christian church highly values life, family, and children, but has ethical concerns about IVF. Is the church merely stuck in the past, or is there reason to be worried?
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Discovering character in the Amazon

In 1913, former President Theodore Roosevelt began an expedition down an unknown river in the heart of the Amazon that would test the character of every member of his team.
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A call for civility

Mark Daniels considers the growing lack of civility in American politics.

The Case of the Purloined Pin

Blazing new trails in American jurisprudence.
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Sinéad's Theology

Sinéad O'Connor's newest album, Theology, was inspired by her search for the real heart of God in the books of the Old Testament prophets.
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Re-thinking Rachel Carson

David Wayne reflects on Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the epidemic of malaria her brand of environmental paranoia unleashed on the world's poorest.
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Wild child

One hopes that while Paris cools her heals in the LA County celebrity slammer, she'll take the time to ask herself a few hard questions. Maybe attend a few AA meetings. Maybe even come to Jesus.
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The scarlet epithet

Is it time for the n-word to go?
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I won't grow up

Have we become a society of raging narcissists?
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Uncomfortable with evil

This scientific age sees all deviancy as a puzzle to be solved through the application of rationalism. Sometimes there's a better spiritual explanation — Evil.
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Virginia Tech and suffering

In the wake of the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech, some good words on suffering and evil.
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Running with my eyes closed

Sometimes we miss God in the ordinary ebb and flow of life because the Ipod is turned up and we just can't hear a thing.
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Electronic graffiti

The public incivility of Imus and the hate-mongering of Internet bomb-throwers grow from the same noxious weed: libertarianism.
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Chocolate bunnies, and Jesus, too!

A 6-foot chocolate Jesus on a cross causes a meltdown at a New York art gallery.
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Spiritual schizophrenia

Listen to your inner voice for spiritual guidance and you'll hear a strangely familiar echo.

Celebrating greatness

Celebrating greatness on a Sunday.
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Carrying our bones

Rachel Barenblat considers Joseph's request that his bones not be left in Egypt, and what it says about our own connections to family and our personal history.
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Cat and mouse games

Consumers and media producers are involved in a continuing cat and mouse game, in which ever more complex and restrictive systems are created to protect intellectual rights, only to be broken by clever, and frustrated, consumers who want full benefit from the products they have purchased.
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Gerald Ford: Liberty and responsibility

Mark Daniels thinks that Gerald Ford's presidency illustrates what makes American government work: liberty is wedded to responsibility.
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Liberty restrained

A political system that wants to call itself "Christian" must be built on a foundation of self-denial, not self-aggrandizement. It must hold that every human being has an essential dignity and intrinsic worth as a son or daughter of God. Self-denial is not degrading — rather, it points us to what it means to be truly human, in community.
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Political tremors

Political upheavals pale in comparison to the steady transformation of the earth.
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The joy of victory

Political victory is sweet, but will it disappoint?
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Does Evangelicalism foster dishonesty about sin?

Scot McKnight of Jesus Creed suggests there is an evangelical environment that fosters dishonesty about sin.
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Michael, Milly and Parkinson's Disease

I suspect Michael Fox has thought a lot about God since he first received his diagnosis. Perhaps he has even wondered, as many have in his place, how a good and loving Father could allow his children to suffer so terribly.
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Bob and Madonna: Uncensored

Bob the Tomato gagged; Madonna crucified. Viewer discretion advised.
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One of these things is not like the others...

Pope Benedict is being criticized for doing exactly what religious leaders are supposed to do: pointing out how Christianity is different from religions X, Y and Z.
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9/11: Lessons unlearned

The most vital post-9/11 task in America today is to rebuild our national unity against an enemy who would deny us freedom.
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Tearing down the walls

Our western love affair with libertarianism, individualism and egalitarianism has led many pedophiles to see themselves as victims of Puritan taboos, and a class of people being denied their civil right to have sex with children.
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Abortion regrets

Comedienne Julia Gorin's moving reflection on abortion.
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Beauty and the beast

The newest fountain of youth: stem-cell injections harvested from aborted babies.
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They call me Trinity

Presbyterians look for "fresh" ways to think about the Trinity.
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Jesus loves p°rn stars

How do we reach the sex industry with the love of Jesus Christ?
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Abortion's dirty little secret

There are some things you just don't talk about: abortion-related health risks to women is one of them.

Is nothing sacred?

Mocking the sacred used to be out of bounds. Post-modernism has moved the boundaries and broken the old rules.
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It's not my fault...

Avoiding guilt and responsibility.

Skipping Christmas?

Closing church services on Christmas is like throwing up your hands and handing the holiday to Santa and his mega-corporation elves.
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State by state abortion rankings

States ranked according to the number of abortions per 1,000 live births.
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Magic numbers

Sometime in the coming week, the US will execute its 1000th death-row inmate. And the number of children put to death by elective abortion? Only God knows.
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The right to have a perfect child

If we can only find love in our hearts for the beautiful people, what does that say about us?
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Are GodBlogs effective for evangelism?

GodBlogs can be a safe harbor for the hurting and seeking. They can be a safe place to talk about faith and doubt, truth and error. And they can be a non-threatening point of first contact for anyone who wants to investigate faith
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Dodging intelligent design

The universe seems to have been carefully tweaked to support life. Like a gambler on a hot streak, life rolled seven after seven after seven after seven, to the point of nearly breaking the house.
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A Muslim response to London

Saying "No to Terrorism."

It's not just about Iraq

There is a civil war raging within Islam against a more moderate, progressive, western-friendly approach to faith.
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The Darfur Collection at All Things 2 All

The Darfur Collection.

When does life have value?

Without realizing it, we have adopted John Stuart Mill's utilitarian principles. Utilitarianism is ultimately a subjective and ego-centric philosophy—in practice, it looks a great deal like social Darwinism.
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Peggy Noonan: I do not understand...

How can some people be so passionate about saving whales and so insistent that a young woman must be starved to death?
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What's wrong with this picture?

Starvation as social policy.
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Congress ready to intervene for Terri

Congress is nearing agreement on legislation that would rescue Terri Schiavo from forced starvation.

Terri Schiavo's deadline

Terri Schiavo update from Get Religion.
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Why we're losing the war against HIV/AIDS

In the battle against HIV/AIDS, the "condom people" are fighting the "abstinence people." Which side has the best science?

Our technicolor heroes

Our heroes have always been actors.

NY Times: Faithful track questions, answers and minutiae on blogs

The New York Times reports on faith-blogging.

Religion and the courts

The Supreme Court weighs in on the separation of church and state.

Terri Schiavo

The killing of Terri Schiavo.
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Neurological disorders

Bill Maher dislikes religion, and religious people.
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Voices crying in the wilderness

What should compassionate and mercy-loving people do to help the dying and starving people of Darfur?

In a direction set by liberty

The One Big Thing that lies at the heart of America is a notion of a set of universal human rights founded on the cornerstone of Liberty.

Rolling Stone flattens Bible ad

Rolling Stone boots Bible ad by Zondervan.

Court answers prayers of Darwin faithful

In a victory for Scientific Fundamentalists, a judge requires stickers calling evolution a "theory, not a fact" to be removed from Georgia textbooks.
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Follow-up: Euthanasia in the Netherlands

The Dutch medical establishment wants to apply euthanasia to the "sufferings of living."

Puritanism reloaded

Americanism is a religious faith, evangelical and universal to the core. Little wonder that we make the rest of the world nervous.
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A modest proposal concerning tsunami relief

Darwin was right—life is all about the survival of the fittest. Those who could swim lived. You think the Red Cross is somehow going to reverse the Laws of Nature?
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The "new" internationalists

Comments on a GetReligion post about Sen. Sam Brownback.

The Incredibles and the superhero ethic

Superheroes and moral character.

The Groningen Protocol

The Groningen Protocol, which allows a committee to actively euthanize a newborn, topples a critical and vital barrier: A person may be put to death for medical reasons without regard for his or her wishes.
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Flush toilets and 24k dial-up

I'm sure Blue America has its pleasures, but I love it here in Red America, and I wouldn't live anyplace else.
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Getting faith out of politics

Religious faith is fundamental to who we are as human beings, and to the culture we live in.
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The politics of power

The Democratic party, while chastising conservatives for their hawkish tendency to drop bombs on dictators and, collaterally, children, is meanwhile waging a much deadlier war on the children themselves.
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Mind and heart

What feeds your heart?

Why don't journalists get religion?

Journalists have a difficult time understanding religion.
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Breaking the bubble II

Why I need to express myself.
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Breaking the bubble

Are Christian weblogs building incarnational communities of faith, or are they merely preaching to the choir?
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Creeping fundamentalism

Terry Mattingly on Creeping Fundamentalism
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