A few weeks ago I wrote a longer review of Chris Stedman’s captivating new book, Faitheist: How An Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious. To celebrate it’s official release this week, I wanted to re-post some of what I said: Chris Stedman has written the book I didn’t know I needed to read. … [The “new atheists” like Dawkins, Harris, et.al.] leave me unsatisfied. There’s always been something about them that doesn’t sit right. Tone? No, I’m not averse... Read more
Finally! Time to vote (if you aren’t among the very many who have done so already). I decided to round-up a list of the pieces I’ve written over the past few months that most pertain to the election today. First, responses to the four Patheos Election Month questions. This was a great series, generating a lot of response from various bloggers here at Patheos. Check them all out. Here are mine: 1: What’s wrong–and what’s right–with the role of faith... Read more
Mother Jones has a great graphic round-up of reasons that women need to vote November 6. (If they haven’t already, that is … I’m struck this year at how old-school it sounds to get out the vote on election day itself, with the overwhelming turnout for early voting all around the country!) A few highlights: 1 in 4 Americans of voting age are single women. In 2011, 26 states enactes 69 anti-choice measures. Paul Ryan has cast 59 votes on... Read more
The most viewed posts here at feminismxianity in October 2012 were these: Vote Wrong & Go to Hell? Presidential Faith: When Difference Matters The Many Gifts of Faitheist And, Joe Biden, Catholic For Choice was a close fourth. Each of these generated some interesting discussion in comments (notwithstanding our regular blog troll), and I encourage you to check it all out! Traffic here at feminismxianity has nearly doubled since launching three months ago. Keep on reading, sharing, tweeting, and commenting. ... Read more
This is the last in my series of posts on prayers centered around reproductive justice issues. It’s time to vote, to act, to speak, to write, to tell your story, and to make justice real. 40 Days of Prayer to Stop the War on Women is a campaign by Faith Aloud, with a prayer a day beginning September 28 and leading up to the election. “Faith Aloud is a movement to give spiritual support to persons making reproductive decisions. As... Read more
Higher Heights for America, an organization working “to expand and support Black women’s leadership pipeline at all levels and strengthen their civic participation,” has published a new report, “Black Women’s Response to the War on Women.” Lest anyone think that the war on women isn’t real, is only about reproductive rights, or is only about white women, this report provides crucial context and data. Here’s the abstract: “In the sixteen months between the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable... Read more
Perhaps because he was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, I don’t often expect to agree with David Frum. However, in his latest piece over at CNN.com, he “gets real” about abortion and I think gets it right. As most activists for protecting access to safe and legal abortion as an issue of women’s health know, and have been pointing out for years, Frum states: If you’re serious about reducing abortion, the most important issue is not which abortions to... Read more
Just for fun, on this day that Protestants (oh who are we kidding, it’s mostly the Lutherans) mark the moment when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses, “A Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” on the door at Wittenberg, I share the closing scene from my 2007 book, Two Reformers: Martin Luther and Mary Daly as Political Theologians. (Yes, Martin Luther, 16th century reformer, and Mary Daly, 20th century radical feminist philosopher. Trust me. Read the book.) An... Read more
For whom will you vote for President, and why? I intend to vote for Barack Obama for president because he has done and said many things that matter to me. His commitments reflect mine, and his accomplishments have improved the lives of millions of Americans. Here is the beginning of a list: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Women’s preventative health care services Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Sonia Sotomayor Ending the war in Iraq Repeal... Read more
Should women be priests? Should women submit to their husbands? Is premarital sex okay? These questions headline the promotional flyer for the new book Sex, Gender, and Christianity, edited by Priscilla Pope-Levison and Jack Levison, and they give you a sense of some of the topics and themes tackled in a set of essays that resulted from a Lily Fellows Program Summer Seminar for Faculty at Seattle Pacific University. I was one of about fifteen faculty that gathered for a... Read more
Caryn Riswold
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