Guest Voices

Martin Richard’s peace

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:42:11 GMT

The biblical prophet Isaiah had a vision of peace: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)

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Catholic Church still plagued by cardinal sin

Vincent Warren — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:51:25 GMT

While critics of the Vatican’s handling of the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal have breathed a sigh of relief at the news of Pope Benedict’s resignation and many hope that a changing of the guard will mean a change in the handling of current and past sex crimes, we must stop to consider who exactly will be selecting the next pope. As Mary Caplan, a leader in the Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), noted, “We’d all like to think there could be a transformation in the church now, but we have to face the reality that the same men responsible for protecting our abusers are going to be the ones casting the ballots.”

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History Channel premiere: Why I support “The Bible”

Gabriel Salguero — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 01:03:41 GMT

As you probably noticed the History Channel’s epic mini-series “The Bible” trended big after its premier. The fact that one of Hollywood’s power couples Mark Burnett and Roma Downey produced this series is a witness that “The Bible” still continues to be a world-changer. My wife and I were part of the diverse leadership that has been fully-committed to promoting this production. Along with leaders and organizations like Luis Palau, Leith Anderson, Focus on The Family, World Evangelical Alliance, and T.D. Jakes we thought this was a project worth backing. I was part of an informal committee that got behind the project and agreed to talk about why I . My wife and I have traveled with Mark and Roma and helped promote it to thousands of Latino Evangelical congregations across the country. The question is, “why?”

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Why atheists should embrace America’s ‘godless’ Constitution

Herb Silverman — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:15:26 GMT

Many atheists, myself included, are offended by what we view as unwarranted antagonism toward atheists. I’ve participated in a number of debates on topics like “Can we be moral without a belief in God?” In these debates, I try to change stereotypical opinions that atheists are inherently immoral and untrustworthy. It’s sad that debates like this even take place in the twenty-first century. It would be unthinkable to see a debate in this country on “Can a Jew be moral?” or “Can a Catholic be moral?”

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Welcome to Women’s History Month, Justice Scalia

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:37:23 GMT

March is Women’s History Month, and this year’s celebration of the historic and contemporary contributions of women in this country got off to quite a kick-start with Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor making their presence felt during arguments on a challenge to the Voting Rights Act, currently in front of the Supreme Court.

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The Episcopal Church’s gay rights pilgrimage

Marc Handley Andrus — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 02:46:14 GMT

Today the U.S. Supreme Court received friend-of-the-court briefs arguing in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples in two historic cases challenging California’s Proposition 8 and the federal “Defense of Marriage Act” or DOMA. As the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of California I signed on to briefs for religious organizations and leaders opposing both Proposition 8 and DOMA. At my invitation more than two dozen Episcopal bishops across the country did so as well. I’d like to tell you why.

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Pope Benedict XVI’s humble courage

Timothy W. Coleman — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 01:44:45 GMT

Like scores of fellow Catholics, I was initially unnerved by the pope’s decision to resign. The more I think about it, though, the more sense it makes. At 85, Pope Benedict XVI realized that he simply couldn’t continue to do what’s necessary for the communion of faithful.

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Benedict the meek: How a quiet man’s pontificate shaped Millennials

Christopher Hale — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:44:13 GMT

As we come to the final hours of the Benedict XVI’s papacy, it seems that his tenure been analyzed from every possible vista: as a spiritual leader, as a theologian, as a writer, as a politician, as a manager and on and on.

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‘How America’s war on terror became a global war on tribal Islam’

Akbar Ahmed — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:15:54 GMT

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of “The Thistle and the Drone: How America’s War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam,” published by Brookings.

American troops were in Afghanistan as a consequence of the events on 9/11, which many believed to represent the larger concept of the “clash of civilizations.” While Bernard Lewis was the author of this phrase and deployed his material as a historian to expand on it, Samuel Huntington popularized the term. Most people hearing of it took it on face value to mean an ongoing confrontation between two inherently opposed civilizations—the West and the world of Islam. The war on terror may thus be seen as an extension of the “clash.” While the phrase is a gross reduction of an already simplistic frame for the understanding of history, it became hugely influential after 9/11. The attacks on that day by Muslims seemed to confirm the core idea of the clash of civilizations and offered a plausible explanation of contemporary events. Lewis was instantly elevated to the role of public prophet. Dick Cheney, the American vice president, consulted him frequently and cited his ideas on television when justifying the war on Iraq.

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Negotiating change in the Islamic religious establishment

Ali Gomaa — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:37:43 GMT

It has been said by many that Egypt is going through difficult and trying times. Today, however, I would like to share with you my true feelings of optimism and hope for our country and our people.

We are a mere two years from the 25 January revolution. These past two years have indeed witnessed great challenges and difficulties. And though it seems that we are still struggling, I believe it is imperative to join hands together to bring about a strong, independent and stable Egypt. And while there will continue to be disagreements among the different political parties and segments of society, this is a natural outcome of a truly functioning democracy. I am calling upon all political leaders to put aside their individual interests and work together, putting the interests of the nation and its people at the forefront. This political stability will pave the way for growth in the economy and development of the various sectors of Egypt’s economic life.

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Ready to come out as pro-gay? Welcome to the club.

Ross Murray — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:25:16 GMT

There was a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people were not seen, heard, discussed, or even thought about in most of our society. No one knew who they were. What people did wrongfully assume about them was that they were sinful people who lurked on the margins of society. Those of us who identified as part of the LGBT community kept quiet, often for fear of what could happen to us if we courageously spoke up.

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Sequester: When greed becomes policy

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:54:54 GMT

The “sequester,” $85 billion automatic across-the-board spending cuts passed as part of the budget deal of 2011, is likely to actually happen, cost perhaps a million jobs and stall our fragile economic recovery.

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The origin of the ‘nones’

Alan Cooperman — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:38:14 GMT

I’d like to thank Christian Piatt for his kind mention of the Pew Research Center, but we cannot take credit for originating the term “nones,” which has been around for decades. As we said in the preface to our October 2012 report,“Nones” on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation:

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Call him ‘pope emeritus’

Don Clemmer — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:26:39 GMT

The church and the world are still absorbing the shock of the announcement that on February 28th Pope Benedict XVI will become the first in modern history to resign from the papacy (the last two were Gregory XII in 1415 and St. Celestine V in 1294). In the wake of this bold decision, one fact shines through: only he could do this.

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When do student prayers cross the First Amendment line?

Charles C. Haynes — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:47:06 GMT

Students are free to pray in public schools – except when they aren’t.

If this sounds confusing, pity school administrators charged with figuring out if and when to draw the line on student prayers.

Current controversies in two regions of the county illustrate how complicated this line-drawing has become:

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Freedom languishes for Baha’is in Iran

Winston Nagan — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:54:45 GMT

Nagan is a professor of law and the founding director of the Institute for Human Rights and Peace Development at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a former chairman of the board of directors of Amnesty International USA (1989-91).

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Don't call us ‘the nones': In praise of religious independence

Christian Piatt — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:15:43 GMT

I’ve heard a lot about “the nones” lately. No, don’t conjure up images of cantankerous ladies in penguin-like habits enforcing Catholic-school order. These “nones” are the new “spiritual but not religious.”

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America’s Latino future

John J. DiIulio Jr. — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:57:53 GMT

Demography is political destiny in a representative democracy. As the U.S. Census Bureau forecasts, by mid-century, the nation’s Latino population will surpass the 100 million mark, and nearly 1 in 3 U.S. residents will be Latino (up from about 1 in 6 today). Most Latinos now live in just three states (California, Florida, and Texas), but before mid-century there will be sizable Latino subpopulations in many cities from coast to coast. And, as the native-born Latino population increases, the rate at which Latinos graduate from college and vote will increase.

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Pope Benedict XVI, the great

Mathew N. Schmalz — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:50:52 GMT

While Pope Benedict was visiting the U.S. in 2008, I was doing a radio interview during which I was asked the standard questions about the pope’s personality and how he compared to John Paul II. I tried to give an appropriate sound bite, but I went on a little too long. The radio interviewer cut me off and ended the segment by saying, “Well, I think everyone wishes we had John Paul II back.”

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The real church scandal

Herb Silverman — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:01:21 GMT

I have faith that the pope reads my On Faith blogs because he followed my advice in a column in 2010. “Popes sometimes choose the name of a previous pope whose reign they wish to emulate. Whether coincidental or not, Pope Benedict XVI can take the same action as a morally challenged namesake. In 1045, Pope Benedict IX resigned.”

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Church and state in France and the United States

Jean Baubérot — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:09:36 GMT

Translated from the French by Jacques Berlinerblau

A sociological approach to political secularism would define it according to its four basic principles. The first two refer to secularism’s main goals :1) liberty of conscience as a public right, 2) non-discrimination against citizens on the basis of their religion. The other two principles are separation of church and state, and the neutrality of the state towards all religions.

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How to reduce abortions

Richard M. Doerflinger — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:56:56 GMT

In President Obama’s first term, there was a brief shining moment when people with various views on abortion’s legality thought they might agree on some ways to reduce abortions.

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What’s a Christian theologian doing at a conference on secularism?

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:59:12 GMT

As a Christian theologian, I gladly accepted the invitation to speak at the conference “Secularism on the Edge: The Church and The State in the United States, France, and Israel.” The reason I did is that I believe people of faith need to wake up and realize that they must defend secularism as absolutely indispensible to protect freedom of religion.

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The war on terror and the war for hearts and minds

Priyanka Srinivasa — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:21:09 GMT

A few days ago, I had the honor of accompanying former Pakistani Ambassador to Great Britain Akbar Ahmed to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to introduce his new book, “The Thistle and the Drone,” on John Milewskis show on the MHz Worldview Channel. The research, which I helped collect and synthesize, draws on 40 case studies of Muslim tribal communities found along the borders between nations and caught in a post-9/11 paradigm in which they are labeled terrorist and set upon by central government and foreign power alike.

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Is entertainment our new American idol?

Kyle Idleman — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:01:18 GMT

When most people hear the word “idol,” they either think of the reality television show searching for the next musical sensation, or perhaps they think of a well-known celebrity or athlete. Depending on your age and taste in music, or lack there of, you might even think of “White Wedding” punk rocker Billy Idol.

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