Archive for the ‘Religion’ category
A few things I’ve been looking at
“Being a Maid”. Mormonism dealing with the internet. “The Aesthetics of Authority”. A Szymborska poem, complete with cat and link to an alternate translation. “Kim Jong Un Looking at Things”. Bonus video: All kinds of text and subtext at a UC town hall meeting about Occupy.
And I’m (no longer) a mormon
A few years ago, I had a conversation with one of my favorite Whatsitzers about some of his experiences as a Mormon missionary. I asked whether he had ever converted anyone, and he answered that yes, there were a few. I pressed him asking, “How do you feel about that?” I have to admit that I assumed [...]
St. Ann’s Kids . . .
Well, my sister finally passed away. It’s been a long time coming since she had lived with Multiple Sclerosis for 25 years. This is a photo of her oldest child with my son. The big kid was adopted into my parents family in 1980. The little one born into the extended clan in 2004. The [...]
Potentially funny or mean spirited?
From the New York Times: ‘Book of Mormon’ Announces Cast and Designers By ERIK PIEPENBURG “The Book of Mormon,” the first Broadway musical from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of “South Park,” has found its Mormons. Josh Gad, a correspondent on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” and Andrew Rannells (“Jersey Boys”) will [...]
Bigotry vs. bigotry
A couple of weeks ago, commentator Juan Williams got fired from NPR for saying this: The firing caused a huge uproar; many believed Williams was simply stating a truth, something that many other non-Americans feel too, and that political correctness had run amok. Personally, I was glad to see Williams fired, mostly because it’s not [...]
Queerness and exile
I’ve been thinking this week along some of the same lines as Rachel’s post from yesterday. I’d like to add a few thoughts to hers, starting on the subject of religion but then generalizing. Last week I went to a panel discussion on queer youth and religion where one speaker, Professor Mark Jordan, talked about [...]
Religious believers, religious knowledge
You may have seen press coverage this week of a study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life about religious knowledge among members of various American religious groups. Mormons, Jews, and atheists/agnostics scored highest, even after adjusting for education and income. White evangelical Protestants and Mormons scored highest on questions about the Bible [...]
Pressed for the truth
The other night I was ironing a shirt for work when I accidentally got a steam burn down the side of one finger. The wound was invisible, the pain wicked, especially since I was still wielding the iron, its hot, wet air hissing out all over the place. Though I persevered until the shirt was [...]
Influence
I was quite old before I realized that I was the only person at my church who listened to secular music. I must have been in seventh grade, because I clearly remember a Sunday School classmate asking me what my favorite album was at the time, and I said Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Of course. [...]
