Journalism

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Where does 007 kneel?

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Religion is not the first topic that comes to mind for James Bond, the MI6 agent portrayed in dozens of movies, numerous print productions, more than a handful of video games and who knows how many parodies. I know the next Bond film Quantum of Solace is scheduled for released in November, but this weekend isn’t too early to take a light-hearted look at the possible religious faith of this womanizing, fearless secret agent thanks in large part to The Times‘ http://timesonline.typepad.com/faith/2008/04/was-james-bond.html “>Faith Central blog.


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Building an image

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Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, has long been known as an influential port city. But it’s a huge tourist destination as well. The city is constantly building, allegedly claiming 15-25 percent of the world’s cranes. It has the tallest man-made structure, the only 7-star hotel, massive man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree. Half the time I see pictures of Dubai, I’m unsure if what I’m seeing is real or computer generated.


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Abortion in a strangely faithless Russia

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From time to time, readers on the left side of the cultural aisle get upset with the GetReligionistas because of the amount of space we dedicate to abortion and other “Culture of Life” issues.


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Looking for religion at the debate

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Few things excite me more than a good presidential debate. Tonight I’ll be live blogging certain aspects of the first debate between the Democratic Candidate Barack Obama and the Republican Candidate John McCain. While it is supposed to focus on foreign policy (and no doubt the economy will be something of a topic), my focus will be on any religious aspects that may come up. Other items are fair game for comment of course.


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Policing prayer

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Six of 17 chaplains Virginia State Police chaplains have resigned because of new restrictions on prayer. The state police superintendent ordered them to offer only non-denominational prayers at public events. All stories about movement on First Amendment protections are big and the Washington-area papers made sure to cover it.


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Missing religion in academia

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The New York Times earlier this week had a very interesting story on the latest strategy from conservatives to gain influence on American institutions of higher learning. The article takes the perspective that a lot of what these conservatives are doing is a sly new strategy to turn the clock back in American education:


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For the love of money

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It’s always interesting to see how religion beat professionals tackle the big issues of the day. And these days, that means the economy. Recently we looked at a PBS program on the moral and religious dimensions of Wall Street problems. Steven Waldman had an item questioning whether attacks on “greed” were too simplistic. Among other things, he notes that Prosperity Gospel folks have sent some interesting messages about financial rewards from God.


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Confessions of texting worshippers

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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Tim Townsend had an amazing story on Tuesday that shatters any notion that the religion beat is only about stuffy theology or culture wars. The religion beat this week in St. Louis is about cell phone texting your pastor during his sermon and possibly having him respond before his sermon is over.


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