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Readers Respond to Obama's Complex Stance on Gay Unions
Tweet Share on Facebook October 21, 2009 Comment (28)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
Many readers vented outrage over my attempt to reconcile President Obama's recent remarks that "you will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman" with his refusal to support gay marriage.
I argued that Obama isn't necessarily being inconsistent. Many of you disagreed.
Here's Robert St. Genis of Louisiana:
We should have learned that separate but equal is anything but. We should also not allow the rights of the minority to be subject to the tyranny of the majority. Women did not gain the right to vote by popular vote. Interracial marriage was not a proposition that the populous voted upon.
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A 'Spiritual But Not Religious' Democrat Speaks
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2009 Comment (13)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
You don't often hear American politicians who hail from the burgeoning "spiritual but not religious" demographic discuss their beliefs, but Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski's did yesterday on National Public Radio. Here's what the two-term Democrat said:
I must admit, I may not be as religious but I'm very spiritual—and I believe if there is a God, this is where he lives. He's on the river, he's in the mountains—this is what it's all about.
I would be interested to hear from believers if this take on God is compatible with their own views, or whether it hews closer to nature worship. Spiritual but not religious folks: What do you think?
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At AIPAC, Romney Slams Obama Without Ever Mentioning His Name
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2009 Comment (13)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate, is getting lots of attention for his speech yesterday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Romney vigorously attacked President Obama's posture toward Iran, the Palestinians, and the Arab world at large—without ever mentioning the president by name.
Check out some of these thinly veiled attack lines:
The Iranian regime is unalloyed evil, run by people who are at once ruthless and fanatical. Stop thinking that a charm offensive will talk the Iranians out of their pursuit of nuclear weapons. It will not. . . . Once an outstretched hand is met with a clenched fist, it becomes a symbol of weakness and impotence.
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Vatican Makes It Much Easier for Anglicans to Convert
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2009 Comment (7)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
In a historic move, the Vatican has made it a lot easier for American Episcopalians disillusioned with their church's ordination of women and its increasing openness towards gays to join the Roman Catholic Church. The policy announced Tuesday allows Episcopalians to convert while retaining some distinctly Anglican spiritual and liturgical customs, including the tradition of married priests.
The Anglican Communion, among the world's largest religious bodies, is the mother church for Episcopalians.
The New York Times has a good overview of the Vatican's complicated policy shift:
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Mike Huckabee Writes Christmas Book
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2009 Comment (11)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
Two weeks before Sarah Palin's memoir hits bookstores next month, possible 2012 presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is publishing a new volume of his own: A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit. Huckabee's already taking presale orders—and orders for leather display boxes and for signed, numbered versions of the book that include certificates of authenticity.
A new Rasmussen poll has Huckabee edging out Mitt Romney in a one-on-one Republican primary.
Huckabee's yuletide TV ad in the 2008 presidential race, above, made him something of a Christmas candidate the last time around. Doing publicity for Simple Christmas will give him an opportunity to connect with voters in a warm and fuzzy and decidedly nonpolitical way, which could help reinforce his likability in a potential matchup against the less cuddly Romney. Very Oprahesque.
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Video: Obama's Diwali Message
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2009 Comment (12)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
The White House has posted video of President Obama's message on Diwali, the pan-Indian holiday celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. Interesting that most of Obama's direct messages to foreign populations—his public diplomacy—appear to revolve around religious outreach.
There was his Cairo speech to the Muslim world in May. A videotaped Ramadan message in August. Now this.
Also worth noting: The Times of India said George W. Bush launched the White House's Diwali observation, but the Obama White House blog says last week's observance "marked the first time that an American President has observed the holiday."
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Quote of the Week: Apologies for Dr. Mengele/Obama Health Adviser Comparison
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2009 Comment (6)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
"I deeply regret the reference to Dr. Josef Mengele. I was using hyperbole for effect and never intended to actually equate anyone in the Obama administration with Dr. Mengele. I will certainly refrain from making such references in the future."
Richard Land, public policy chief for the Southern Baptist Convention, in a letter to the Anti-Defamation League
- See Obama's top faith moments.
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Poll: Is Obama's Stated Lack of Support for Gay Marriage Genuine?
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2009 Comment (12)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
Please take a moment to explain your vote in comments.
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Obama Celebrates Diwali
Tweet Share on Facebook October 15, 2009 Comment (17)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
The U.S. press mostly ignored it, but the Indian news media are all over yesterday's White House celebration of Diwali, which the Oxford Dictionary of Hinduism describes as "a major pan-Indian festival celebrated around the day of the new moon in October-November."
Worth noting that the Diwali celebration, like so many aspects of Obama's interfaith outreach—including last month's Ramadan dinner or the White House faith-based office—began in George W. Bush's administration.
Here is a feel for how this is playing on the subcontinent from today's Times of India:
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Is Obama Having It Both Ways on Gay Marriage?
Tweet Share on Facebook October 15, 2009 Comment (25)By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
Townhall has posted this video juxtaposing what it says are President Obama's conflicting views on gay marriage, variously offered before the Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner last weekend and at Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum last summer.
The video is labeled Obama's 2 Faces: From Saddleback to Brokeback.
My take: There's not necessarily a contradiction here. Here's what Obama said at Saddleback last year: