May 21, 2009 | 3:31 pm

Most liberal Protestant clergy don’t support gay marriage

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Interesting news from Dan Gilgoff’s God & Country blog:

Mainline Protestantism is usually depicted in the news media as the politically liberal analogue to the conservative evangelical movement. But it’s more complicated than that.

For instance, mainliners split their support evenly between George W. Bush and John Kerry in 2004, a year when nearly 80 percent of white evangelicals pulled the lever for Bush. Last November, Obama got only 44 percent of the white nonevangelical Protestant vote—mainliners, mostly—the same share Kerry got.

Source: Public Religion Research

And USA Today’s Cathy Lynn Grossman blogs about a new survey of mainline Protestant clergy, the most comprehensive ever conducted, that finds that most do not support legalizing same-sex marriage, even if they wouldn’t be required to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.

This division helps to explain why mainline denominations like the Episcopal Church—and let’s not forget the Methodists and the Lutherans—have been so torn up by a disagreement over the biblical treatment—acceptance, condemnation or ambivalence—of homosexuality.

The study was performed by Public Religion Research. Here are some highlights:

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May 21, 2009 | 12:51 pm

Did Christians punish ‘American Idol’ finalist for being gay?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

From what I hear, the “American Idol” finale was a bit of a shocker.

Kris Allen, the church worship leader cum rockstar, bested oddsmaker favorite Adam Lambert. As I mentioned yesterday, there were strong differences between the two, and not just in musical style.

Allen was Christian and Southern and more conservative; Lambert was Jewish and liberal and made for Hollywood. And at some point, it appears that Allen became the straight “Idol” and Lambert the gay “Idol.”

“American Idol was like watching Prop 8 win all over again.”

I saw that perspective included in a quick compilation of post-“Idol” chatter on the blog of my old colleague Greg Hernandez, who is gay and was himself wondering how much of the spike in “Idol” voting was “anti-Adam.”

It’s really impossible to know how many Christians, and other socially conservative religious folks, voted for Allen simply because he wasn’t Lambert. But I’m sure at least some.

Here is what one commenter had to say after another complained about Lambert’s defeat:

you people think we’re going to turn the US over to all the deviants that thrive in CA?  You can believe in whatever you want but God makes it clear the what the righteous path is.  We’ve (yes us Christians) have been voting for both Gokey and Kris and when the choice came down to a Christian role model vs Adam and Steve, well there was only one choice.

We might have lost the election but we haven’t given up on America!!!!

I’ve seen similar sentiments all over the Internet. But why, why did some Christians feel they had a moral obligation to vote for the candidate who embodied their values?

We as humans have a dispensation to align with those we consider to be fellow travelers, people who make us proud of people just like us. That much, I think, is apparent when Jews ask, “but is he Jewish?” But a homosexual isn’t exactly an anomaly in the music world, and Lambert was going to get a good record deal regardless of “Idol’s” outcome.

“Adam is Jewish? Big deal. His lifestyle is wrong,” an angry God Blog visitor commented. “Is he talented? Yes. Who cares? You are an idiot. Typical LA bullshit. You folks in California are unbelievable.”

How Lambert’s lifestyle relevant to his talent is beyond me. If it was, the only entertainment I’d be enjoying would be “McGee and Me.” And, besides, this commenter, Susan, doesn’t exactly make a strong case for piety.

As a Christian I am incredibly uncomfortable with—actually, embarrassed by—the pride some are taking in this affair. It’s natural to be happy for Allen, but it’s not righteousness that revels in Lambert’s defeat.

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May 21, 2009 | 10:55 am

Evangelism gone wrong: Mormon and Catholic battle over Jesus

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

And I thought militant atheists needed to tone down the rhetoric and ease up their attacks. Talk about a theological debate that ended up being anything but godly:

About 3 p.m. Tuesday, two men near 800 East and 900 South in Salt Lake City got into a discussion over whether Jesus was a Mormon or a Catholic. The discussion led to blows, police said, and when officers arrived, one man was unconscious and the other was sitting on a sidewalk. The man still conscious was intoxicated, police said, and arrested on suspicion of assault and public intoxication.

I know some people see Jesus as a warrior, a belief that, to me makes no sense. If he really had been a warrior, then he would have been exactly the messiah the first century Jews were looking for. But, regardless, this is taking things a bit far.

For heretical insights on Jesus’ combat ability, check out the original “South Park” sketch “The Spirit of Christmas.”

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May 21, 2009 | 5:12 am

Four arrested in plot to bomb synagogues, shoot down plane

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The news popping up all over my Twitter timeline right now, besides “American Idol” reflections, is the FBI’s arrest of four men who planned to bomb New York synagogues and shoot a plane out of the sky.

Here’s the story from the New York Daily News:

The idea was to create a “fireball that would make the country gasp,” one law enforcement said.

Little did they know the plastic explosives packed into their car bombs and the plane-downing Stinger missile in their backseat were all phony - supplied by undercover agents posing as Pakistani militants linked to Al Qaeda.

“If there can be any good news from this terror scare it’s that this group was relatively unsophisticated, penetrated early, and not connected to another terrorist group,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “This incident shows that we must always be vigilant against terrorism, foreign or domestic.”

The suspects - three U.S.-born citizens and one Haitian immigrant - at least three of whom were said to be jailhouse converts to Islam, were angry about the deaths of Muslims in Afghanistan, sources told The News.

“They wanted to make a statement,” a law enforcement source said. “They were filled with rage and wanted to take it out on what they considered the source of all problems in America - the Jews.”

Read more about the group’s Jew hatred and foiled terrorist plot here.

In other news that’ll put Jews on edge, court records show that the alleged killer of Johanna Justin-Jinich, a Jewish student at Wesleyan University, had a copy of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” in his hotel and had written in his journal:

“I have to kill Jenn. I think it’s OK to kill Jenn and kill the Jews at this school… The want and need to kill Jenn and the Jews is there.”

Despite what “Defamation” director Yoav Shamir has experienced, anti-Semitism is alive and well.

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May 20, 2009 | 7:46 pm

Adam Lambert and Kris Allen: ‘American Idol’ religion final

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Lambert, left, and Allen

I’ll be honest: I haven’t seen a single minute of “American Idol” this season. Usually I stick around just long enough to watch the auditions, but this year I’ve ignored the Fox hit altogether. That being said, I have little—actually, no—perspective to add to the second half of the finale, which airs tonight.

But I am keenly aware of the differences between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. To start, one is a Jew and the other an evangelical Christian. From the Los Angeles Times:

Lambert’s dazzling tenor and propensity for high notes have made for many memorable “Idol” moments. But in this era of Internet leaks, what’s become known about his life beyond the show has made an equally important impression.

When photographs of Lambert, 27, kissing a man overran the Internet in March, Lambert brushed off the incident with a smile and a new motto: “I know who I am.” Several gay contestants have been on the program, but none has made it so far while being this nonchalant about his sexuality.

“In terms of the sexuality question, that’s up to him to say, but he’s obviously not conventionally masculine in how he dresses and how he talks, and there’s no sense that he’s ever tried to hide it,” said Ross. “He’s totally matter of fact—and that is really startling to see on mainstream TV. It seems almost heroic to me.”

Lambert’s competition is Allen, a 23-year-old worship leader at New Life Church in Conway, Ark., who was doing missionary work in Asia and Africa during the years Lambert was building his pop resume. Allen was one of several actively Christian musicians to make this year’s Top 10, who will tour as a group this summer.

Lambert and Allen have a musical connection: Both specialize in variations of the form of alternative rock known as emo, an emotionally forthright, catchy variation on American punk music. While Lambert’s dyed-black hair and eyeliner recall bands like My Chemical Romance, Allen’s warble and his love of acoustic guitar link him to artists like Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba, who himself is open about his Christian faith.

The Times’ Ann Powers goes on to put this season of “Idol” in the context of Carrie Prejean, who really doesn’t seem to be going away, and the Obama presidency.

Danielle Berrin has had a lot more to say about Lambert. Comments are welcome below; someone please let me know who wins.

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May 20, 2009 | 6:04 pm

Israeli man claims to be victim of ‘sperm theft’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Out of Israel comes the most usual argument you’ve ever heard in favor of abortion. A college-aged man is claiming he’s the victim of “sperm theft,” and that the “thief” should be forced to abort their drunken love child.

From The Forward:

The 21-year-old man who brought the case claimed that the 26-year-old woman carrying his baby seduced him when he was drunk, and claimed she was using birth control. He said that given these circumstances, sperm was “stolen” from him and that she should not be allowed to continue her pregnancy. He claimed that fathering a child would harm his chances of marrying in the future and harm him emotionally and financially.

The woman responded that he was aware of his actions and denied he was under the impression she was on birth control.

The judge in the Haifa family court rejected the man’s claims, saying that he had no right to make decisions regarding the defendant’s body, and that the woman’s right to continue her pregnancy is protected by law. However, he did say that the claim of “sperm theft” could be suitable for a hearing in the civil court, making it conceivable that he could bring a case demanding compensation or dispensation from giving any financial support to the child.

Sort of reminds me of that scene from “Legally Blonde.” You know, the one where Elle pipes up in her criminal law class and argues that a sperm donor had no right to see the child he contributed to.

It’s at the 5-minute mark in the above video. Here’s what Elle says:

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May 20, 2009 | 4:18 pm

Thousands abused, raped in Irish Catholic schools

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

And you thought the U.S. Roman Catholic Church, and to a lesser degree Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community, had a sexual abuse scandal. Ireland had its own tragedies. And a long-awaited reported published today reveals just how profound those problems were:

A fiercely debated, long-delayed investigation into Ireland’s Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation.

Nine years in the making, Wednesday’s 2,600-page report sides almost completely with the horrific reports of abuse from former students sent to more than 250 church-run, mostly residential institutions. But victims’ leaders said it didn’t go far enough — particularly because none of their abusers were identified by name.

The report concluded that church officials always shielded their orders’ pedophiles from arrest to protect their own reputations and, according to documents uncovered in the Vatican, knew that many pedophiles were serial attackers.

The investigators said overwhelming, consistent testimony from still-traumatized men and women, now in their 50s to 80s, had demonstrated beyond a doubt that the entire system treated children more like prison inmates and slaves than people with legal rights and human potential.

“A climate of fear, created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment, permeated most of the institutions and all those run for boys. Children lived with the daily terror of not knowing where the next beating was coming from,” the final report of Ireland’s Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse concluded.

The leader of Ireland’s 4 million Catholics, Cardinal Sean Brady, and religious orders at the center of the scandal offered immediate apologies.

“I am profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed that children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions. Children deserved better and especially from those caring for them in the name of Jesus Christ,” Brady said.

You can read the rest here.

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May 20, 2009 | 3:08 pm

Facebook and the Jews

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

From a Facebook group

It’s inevitable that social-networking sites will be meeting places for not only old classmates and work colleagues and new friends but also hatemongers looking for fellow travelers. But what’s going on with Facebook?

On Monday, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency warned, in the words of my friend Darrell, “Jews beware, terrorist trickery on Facebook.” The Shin Bet reported that they had received numerous reports of terror groups using Facebook and other social networking sites to approach Israelis and possibly try to kidnap them.

This followed a report last week from the Simon Wiesenthal Center of a 25 percent increase in “problematic” social networking. Via Reuters:

The report was based on “over 10,000 problematic Web sites, social networking groups, portals, blogs, chat rooms, videos and hate games on the Internet which promote racial violence, anti-semitism, homophobia, hate music and terrorism.”

“Every aspect of the Internet is being used by extremists of every ilk to repackage old hatred, demean the ‘Enemy,’ to raise funds and since 9/11, recruit and train Jihadist terrorists,” the Center said in a statement.

Examples of what the report calls “digital terrorism and hate” range from a Facebook group named “Death to gays” in Croatian to a YouTube video of a Koran being burned and various Web sites promoting militant groups such as Hezbollah, the Taliban, al Qaeda and Colombia’s FARC.

The Wiesenthal Center’s report was included in a recent Congressional briefing titled “Hate in the Information Age,” and inspired this post from Sam Gliksman, who writes the Chai Tech blog:

How bad is it? A quick look at the page of one group called “We hate Israel” gives you an idea of what can still pass uncensored on Facebook. The main page contains the image of a large swastika made from the letters in the word Israel. There’s a poster of the Twin Towers on fire with a large caption stating “The Jews. We all know it was them.“ The group blog is littered with posts such as “Kill all Israel people!!!“, “Death to Israel!“ and “Hitler took the (right) decision with the Jewish people. They must all be burned at the same time”. Other posts threaten that there will be a strike in October that will wipe out all of Israel. Companies such as Disney and Pepsi are accused of being Zionist (it’s claimed that Pepsi derived its name as an acronym from “Pay Every Penny to Save Israel”!). Yes, even Facebook - the company that is allowing the group to spread this vicious anti-Semitic dribble - is supposedly “owned by a Zionist”!

That would be Mark Zuckerberg, the Harvard dropout who created Facebook. And, to be sure, the site’s terms of service dictate “You will not post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence” and “You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory.“

But Gliksman writes:

Inexplicably however, it seems that extremists espousing hatred or threatening violence towards Jews and Israel fall under their radar.

In fact, there are over 500 groups that include “we hate Israel” in their name or description. The photo above is from one of them.

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May 20, 2009 | 1:53 pm

Only regular churchgoers remain consistently Republican

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Photo: Bay Area Houston

After the GOP’s thumping at the ballot box in November, conservative columnist Kathleen Parker opined that giving up on God—“three little letters, great big problem”—was imperative for the future of the Republican Party.

“It isn’t that culture doesn’t matter. It does. But preaching to the choir produces no converts,” she wrote. “And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican Party—and conservatism with it—eventually will die out unless religion is returned to the privacy of one’s heart where it belongs.”

Trouble is, social conservatives have become central to the GOP, and a new Gallup poll found that only regular churchgoers have remained heavily Republican:

Since the beginning of the Bush administration in 2001, the GOP has lost self-identified Republicans across the board. Only regular churchgoers, followed closely by self-identified conservatives and older Americans, have remained with the party in large numbers.

In 2001, Americans were nearly evenly split in party identification, with 45 percent identifying as or leaning Democratic, and 44 percent identifying as or leaning Republican. Those figures are now 53 percent Democratic and 39 percent Republican.

GOP losses have been particularly acute among college graduates, 18- to 29-year-olds, self-identified moderates and those who seldom or never attend church, according to Gallup.

I meet two of those three criteria. But for now I remain a reluctant Republican, eager for the Grand Old Party to return to its grand old roots.

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May 20, 2009 | 11:37 am

Black and female: another first for the rabbinate

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Last summer the rabbinate got its first black member from sub-Saharan Africa. This summer it’s getting its first African-American female. From JTA:

Alysa Stanton, who will be ordained June 6 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, has been hired as the spiritual leader of Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville. Bayt Shalom is a small Conservative congregation that two years ago also affiliated with the Reform movement.

Stanton, a convert and mother to an adopted 14-year-old daughter, is a trained psychotherapist who specializes in trauma and grief.

She will be the first African-American rabbi to lead a majority white congregation, despite the fact that about 20 percent of the American Jewish community is ethnically and racially diverse, according to the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research.

Stanton’s ordination will provide young black Jewish Americans “with an important role model,” says Diane Tobin, associate director of the institute. “Hopefully over time they will see themselves reflected in the community.”

(Hat tip: Holy Weblog)

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May 19, 2009 | 1:29 pm

Polish priest gives ‘saucy’ sex tips

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

If a shirtless Padre Oprah (the Rev. Alberto Cutié) was racy, I can’t imagine how cable news would describe a Polish priest whose book on sex urges couples to keep it “saucy and fantasy packed.”

In “Sex as you don’t know it: For married couples who love God,” the Rev. Ksawery Knotz writes: “Every act - a type of caress, a sexual position - with the goal of arousal is permitted and pleases God. During sexual intercourse, couples can show their love in every way, can offer one another the most sought after caresses.”

More from The Telegraph:

Sex in marriage, Father Knotz explains, should not be boring but “saucy, surprising and fantasy packed”.

Available through one of Poland’s biggest retail chains, the book, which has the backing of the Catholic Church in Poland, has become something of hit, with the publishers already contemplating a reprint. Stating his reasons for writing the book, Father Knotz said that there was a need to address issues such as sex, which in the past the Catholic Church may have considered taboo.

He added that he also wanted to get away from the staid attitude that many in the Church have towards sex.

“I compare sex to a football match,” he said. “There are rules, for example you can’t foul or kick the ball out. However, what goes on on the pitch may involve matches of different standards, different leagues. There can be fantastic matches as well as boring ones.”

It’s become a bit of a trend in evangelicals churches in recent years for pastors to give purportedly provocative talks on hot Christian sex—for husbands and wives, of course. Remember the 30-day sex challenge? But it’s quite unusual for a priest to publish the Catholic Kama Sutra, especially without Church approval.

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May 18, 2009 | 8:28 pm

Viva los Judios!

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Breed Street Shul

Boyle Heights was once the Brooklyn of Los Angeles. In fact, Cesar Chavez Avenue was previously known as Brooklyn Avenue. I wrote a little about this when I visited the Mt. Zion Cemetery two years ago; you read more about Boyle Heights’ Jewish history here.

Yesterday, Jews returned to their eastside home to celebrate common bonds with their successors. Fiesta Shalom was, apparently, a success, despite the key musical act’s refusal to play after they learned the event was sponsored by the Israeli consulate. The Jewish Journal had a number of stories leading up to the event, including a co-bylined op-ed by Israeli Consul General Jacob Dayan and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. (Check them out here.) But this morning I particularly enjoyed reading the event coverage from the LA Times. Here’s an excerpt:

From the turn of the 20th century until World War II, Boyle Heights served as the hub of Southern California’s Jewish community. Kosher delis, bakeries and other Jewish businesses dominated Brooklyn Avenue—now Cesar Chavez Avenue. In the 1950s, the Eastside neighborhood’s Jewish population began to decline, with many leaving for West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

Though many businesses in Boyle Heights are still Jewish-owned, it is believed that only a few Jewish residents remain. But many Jewish social service efforts—including Koreh L.A., a literacy program created by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles—predominantly serve Latinos.

Lucy Delgado, an 85-year-old Mexican American who has lived in Boyle Heights since birth, said she had friends of many cultures when she was growing up in the neighborhood that is now almost entirely Latino. She recalled a rabbi inviting her into the Breed Street Shul, and marveling at the chandeliers. Like many people who streamed through the synagogue Sunday, Delgado was saddened by its current state.

So was Brenda Mandelbaum, 68, whose father, Mendel Friedman, had once been a rabbi and president of the shul. She had not stepped into the structure since about 1951, when she last lived in Boyle Heights.

“I was a little surprised to see the way it is,” she said as she walked out of the synagogue. “It’s a shame, because it was beautiful.”

You can read the rest here. The Jewish Historical Society of Southern California, another sponsor of Fiesta Shalom, has been working for years to restore the Breed Street Shul. As Lilly Fowler wrote in February, it hasn’t been easy:

The Breed Street Shul Project, established in 1999 as a subsidiary of the Jewish Historical Society, is an all-volunteer-run organization in charge of renovating the synagogue, and according to its president, Stephen Sass, approximately $1.3 million has already been spent on the restoration. The roof, once cracked open and overtaken by pigeons, is whole again; the stained-glass windows throughout the building have been restored, and over half of the seismic retrofitting has been completed.

But there is much work left to do — about $5 million worth, Sass estimated.

Among the remaining projects are conservation of the artwork on the shul’s walls, including a mural of Mount Zion and the Ten Commandments and scatterings of folk art throughout; purchase and installation of air-conditioning and heating systems, which the building didn’t have and today are considered essential, and the completion of the seismic work.

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