Prof. Pam's Religion Blog » Politics

Franklin Graham and the irrational

PH — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:04:27 +0000

It is very sad to see the Graham “brand” so pathetic and so tattered. Sad. Very sad. From Christianity Today:

Samaritan’s Purse president Franklin Graham addressed questions about President Obama’s birthplace and religious beliefs on ABC’s This Week that aired on Sunday. White House spokesman Jay Carney chided Graham for his comments after Graham told host Christiane Amanpour that there were still unanswered questions.

“I would just say I think it’s unfortunate that a religious leader would choose Easter Sunday to make preposterous charges,” Carney said at the end of yesterday’s press briefing.

Graham, who told Christianity Today that his ABC interview was taped a week before Easter, stood by his comments. “I respond[ed] to a question. I’m not going out making speeches about where the President was born. I could care less,” he said. “I’ll continue to answer reporters’ questions.”

I used the word “irrational”. But maybe it makes “perfect sense” given Graham’s other post-9/11 comments. Still, I am left wondering where the sane Christians are. And, no, Hitch, I don’t believe “sane Christian” is an oxymoron.

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Catholics and the next election

PH — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:32:12 +0000

Great discussion on Bloggingheads.tv about American Catholics as swing voters. Visit the links below to access the entire discussion. [Added bonus: You get to listen to a lilting Irish accent.]

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Gentlemen! Synchronize your watches!

PH — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:42:27 +0000

No. This isn’t a Photoshop mashup. Three world leaders, representing two of the three Abrahamic religions, are checking to see if it’s sunset yet. From HuffPo:

Prior to the start of their working dinner with President Barack Obama, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, check their watches to see if it is officially sunset, in the Blue Room of the White House, Sept. 1, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Covert courting

PH — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:34:07 +0000

I had high hopes that President Obama would do more outreach among US Muslims. There are only 24 hours in a day. I get that. But I was hoping that we’d see a more overt form of engagement. Perhaps the political climate both pre- and post-election preclude that kind of “innocent” presidential appearance at a mosque. As the NY Times reports:

Nearly a year later, Mr. Obama has yet to set foot in an American mosque. And he still has not met with Muslim and Arab-American leaders. But less publicly, his administration has reached out to this politically isolated constituency in a sustained and widening effort that has left even skeptics surprised.

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A discussion of Christianist militia groups

PH — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:26:43 +0000

I’m not up on my contemporary American eschatology, but some of the comments here pinpointed some rather nuanced, for me, distinctions. The most startling comment was by Prof. Butler from Univ. of Pennsylvania when she made the distinction between merely “believing” in x and the believing that makes x come to pass.

Here’s a video discussion from New York Times. Christians with guns.

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Suicides in India

PH — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:23:05 +0000

Another epidemic it seems. This time of “genuine” suicides as opposed to “suicide bombers”.

“Young people see this as a way to give meaning to what seem like meaningless lives,” said Sudhir Kakar, a prominent psychoanalyst and novelist who has written extensively about mental health in India. “It is a way to become a hero, to take a stand.”

Suicide is generally considered taboo in Hinduism, the religion of most Indians, because it disrupts the cycle of reincarnation that is central to the soul’s progress, Mr. Kakar said.

But the willingness to die for a cause, as exemplified by Gandhi’s epic fasts during the struggle for independence, is seen as noble and worthy. Ancient warriors in Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India, would commit suicide if their commander was killed, Mr. Kakar said. And the practice of sati, or widow burning, although outlawed, remains a potent symbol of wifely devotion.

In modern, democratic India, however, such drastic measures seem like a bizarre and troubling throwback that has shattered many families.

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World Religions 101

PH — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:40:02 +0000

Maybe it would be a good idea for California political candidates to take SFSU’s PHIL 502 World Religions course. Carly Fiorina, former HP CEO and current Republican candidate for California governor, made a Passover faux pas.

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Update: Iraqi Elections

PH — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:29:13 +0000

Super good news re Iraqi March election: Sunni leader *will* participate. NY Times: http://nyti.ms/cC43bE

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Neda, dictatorship and Iran

PH — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:55:48 +0000

Today a student objected to my calling Iran a dictatorship. “It is a democracy,” he said. He did have a point. There are plenty of other places worse than Iran. Travel plans? Nope. I’ll stay right here in greatly flawed California, in the equally “challenged” US of A. There doesn’t seem to be any question that the government of Iran is repressive. Gmail has just been outlawed. The press is hampered. So much for freedom of assembly and free speech.

I do count your blessings and I do remember Neda Agha Soltan. PBS aired a documentary about her and the struggle of the opposition movement in Iran.

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SF response to Westboro Church

PH — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:52:30 +0000

Someone told me that they were in town. They were protesting at the Twitter HQ. Glad to see the Bay Area respond with an “in kind” protest. Apparently they were going to protest in front of the theater where Fiddler on the Roof was being performed. Sometimes I wish I could get inside their twisted theology, but I’d rather not go there. Laughing Squid posted the details:

Westboro Baptist Church showed up to protest in front of Twitter’s San Francisco office on Thursday, but found themselves severely outnumbered by a crowd of absurdist pranksters, including guest blogger EDW Lynch above.

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