Arranging the Terms of Our Surrender and Admitting What We Don't Know About the Homosexuals: Us, Them, and the Gospel Message

Three short takes from articles published online in the past several days:

The "Religious Liberty" Crusade Against Gay Rights: Making the Connections, Identifying the Main Players

For those seeking information about which particular groups have been pushing the "religious liberty" legislation targeting gay folks in various states in the U.S. at present, Dylan Scott has published a helpful article at Talking Points Memo today. Scott notes that major players in the movement to push anti-gay "religious liberty" legislation are the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the American Religious Freedom Program of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), and Focus on the Family.

The Fusion of Religion and Politics: A 19th-Century Southern Republican Leader Rings Warning Bell

Some days lately, I have to pinch myself to remember that I'm living in the 21st century--as a vocal minority of American citizens demands theocratic control of the majority who do not wish to see church joined to state, and do not share the peculiar religious beliefs of the minority clamoring for control. As I look at what happened recently in Kansas and Arizona, at the similar anti-gay bills sitting before a number of other state legislatures, at the push of powerful groups including the Catholic bishops of the U.S. to extend the "right" of veto power over federal health regulations to private businesses on grounds or "religious liberty," I can't help thinking of the insightful predictions of the 19th-century Arkansas Republican leader whose work I published last year in my book Fiat Flux.

A Reader Writes: Absence of Empathy and Stepford Mannequins in Catholic Hierarchy's Response to Abuse Crisis

Earlier this week, when I featured two snapshots of the response of the Catholic hierarchy to the abuse crisis which suggest that this response has frequently been far more about safeguarding the image of church leaders and far less about recognizing that children have been harmed, Rachelfs replied:

More Brief Takes from Week's News: Pope Francis, Catholic Reform, and Liberation Theology

More brief takes from the past week's news--these focusing on discussions of Pope Francis and the Vatican:

Brief Takes from Week's News: "Religious Liberty" Debate and Laws Targeting Gays

Some short takes from this week's news--these are about the "religious liberty" debate and laws targeting gay citizens: 

John Corvino, What's Wrong with Homosexuality?: "Man on Man, Man on Dog, or Whatever the Case May Be" (2)

In the midst of my continued nursing duties (and with warm gratitude to the many of you who left expressions of concern after I posted about Steve's illness yesterday): here's one final excerpt from John Corvino's book What's Wrong with Homosexuality? (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2013). As with my last posting from the book, this is from the chapter entitled "Man on Man, Man on Dog, or Whatever the Case May Be":