A few months ago, we covered the free speech campaign called “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.” This was the campaign launched by a Seattle cartoonist who was disappointed in Comedy Central’s censorship of a South Park cartoon that, well, didn’t depict Muhammad. But it came too close for comfort and the media network engaged in censorship. Reason Magazine ended up picking up the ball and running with it and you can see the winners of the contest there, as well as some great discussion of the back story.
A tale of travel
I’m down here in Houston where my church body — the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod — is having its 64th triennial convention. This is the second convention I’ve attended as an adult and it’s always a lot of fun to catch up with folks from across the country and have those in-depth conversations about theology and practice.
Oops, forgot the kitchen sink
An Associated Press story this week headlined “Lawmakers turn to faith leaders” has it all, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.
The elder Schuller's non-retirement
There is some seriously conflicting information out there right now concerning Crystal Cathedral founder the Rev. Robert H. Schuller. The Los Angeles Times, which has the more recent story, explains:
Seeking real, live Presbyterians!
I have been on the road all week so I must confess that I am way behind on my Summer of Sex readings, which is that annual wave of mainstream-media coverage of debates in the oldline Protestant denominations about you know what.
About that timeline . . .
Far and away the best defense of the New York Times article we’ve been discussing comes from Mark Silk, Trinity College professor of religion and public life. Over at Beliefnet, he writes:
Combing the Canon
As we look into other defenses of the New York Times attack on Pope Benedict XVI, I want to acknowledge at the outset that we’re getting a bit more into the weeds. In fact, some of these discussions might be more technical or murky than we normally encourage. I still think it’s important to have the discussion because the public record is important. But if you are a normal person, you might just want to skip to the next post!
Do it for the children
In response to some of the outcry over the New York Times attack on Pope Benedict XVI, there have been a couple defenses worth discussing.
Reading between the lines
A few weeks ago, there was a bit of a discussion on the internets about whether the mainstream media does a good job of covering honor killings in America. It began with Phyllis Chesler writing:
