February 28, 2011 | 7:02 pm

British judge strips foster care from parents who disapprove of homosexuality

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Being only halfway done with law school, UCLA certainly hasn’t taught me every legal concept yet. But I don’t imagine I’ll every being learning the logic behind an English judge’s decision to prevent a Christian couple from adopting because they disapprove of homosexuality. Via the Washington Post:

Judges at London’s Royal Courts of Justice ruled that laws protecting gays from discrimination take precedence over the couple’s religious beliefs.

Eunice and Owen Johns, aged 62 and 65-years old, had previously fostered children in the 1990s, but what one social worker described as their “strong views” on homosexuality raised red flags with authorities in the English city of Derby when they were interviewed in 2007.

As a reminder, I voted against California’s Proposition 8. But even assuming that the judge was correct that anti-discrimination laws trump religious freedom, I don’t understand how awarding a child to a family that believes homosexuality is sinful would result in an actionable injury to gays and lesbians.

The judge only complicates this by saying Britain is ” a secular state, not a theocracy.” How is that relevant here at all?

February 28, 2011 | 5:19 pm

A hearty laugh

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I don’t actually watch the morning shows, and certainly not local TV news, but if I did I might have noticed a surprising video. It’s of my friends Marcus McArthur’s son Micah. And from what I can tell from Marcus’ Facebook feed, Micah’s video has been making the rounds: “Good Morning America,” CNN, FOX News, local news. Here’s the back story about Marcus McArthur’s son from KSDK 5 in St. Louis:

McArthur says he’s finishing up his doctorate at SLU and applying for professor jobs. When he received yet another rejection letter he ripped it in half and baby Micah started laughing uncontrollably, so he started ripping credit card statements and the sweet sounds of laughter continued.

One of the more surprising places Marcus has thus far found this video of his son Micah, which went viral after having about 1,000 views 10 days ago, and the reason I felt emboldened to embed it here, is TurnToIslam.com—and now, presumably, The God Blog.

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February 28, 2011 | 2:35 pm

Turmoil in Mideast: Good or bad for al Qaeda?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Popular movements in the Mideast have toppled dictators without help from al Qaeda. This seems to work against al Qaeda’s ability to recruit youth disaffected by their autocratic government’s western loyalties. Or so the New York Times reports:

In fact, the motley opposition movements that have appeared so suddenly and proved so powerful have shunned the two central tenets of the Qaeda credo: murderous violence and religious fanaticism. The demonstrators have used force defensively, treated Islam as an afterthought and embraced democracy, which is anathema to Osama bin Laden and his followers.

So for Al Qaeda — and perhaps no less for the American policies that have been built around the threat it poses — the democratic revolutions that have gripped the world’s attention present a crossroads. Will the terrorist network shrivel slowly to irrelevance? Or will it find a way to exploit the chaos produced by political upheaval and the disappointment that will inevitably follow hopes now raised so high?

For many specialists on terrorism and the Middle East, though not all, the past few weeks have the makings of an epochal disaster for Al Qaeda, making the jihadists look like ineffectual bystanders to history while offering young Muslims an appealing alternative to terrorism.

“So far — and I emphasize so far — the score card looks pretty terrible for Al Qaeda,” said Paul R. Pillar, who studied terrorism and the Middle East for nearly three decades at the C.I.A. and is now at Georgetown University. “Democracy is bad news for terrorists. The more peaceful channels people have to express grievances and pursue their goals, the less likely they are to turn to violence.”

The converse, of course, is that a Libya in transition could provide a strategic opportunity for al Qaeda, both in terms of once sympathetic people and a halted nuclear and chemical weapons program.

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February 27, 2011 | 10:46 pm

LAT: Some Christian colleges aren’t cool with homosexuality

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Here’s a real barn burner that I almost forgot to mention: this story from the LA Times earlier this month that seemed a bit shocked to learn that some Christians disapprove of homosexuality. The newshook was an open letter in the Westmont College student paper by a group of gay and lesbian alumni of the Christian school. The LAT reported:

Although LGBT — an umbrella term for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender — is a commonplace designation at schools across the United States, many Christian colleges have struggled with just how much to condone homosexuality, which is seen by some of their religious leaders as scripturally prohibited.

At the leafy campus near Santa Barbara, there are no gay-pride events or clubs in which gay students can socialize openly. The small, nondenominational school requires incoming students to sign a campus code that forbids “occult practices, sexual relations outside of marriage, homosexual practice, drunkenness, theft, profanity and dishonesty.”

Such restrictions would generate loud protests at mainstream schools, but at Westmont, even now there’s barely a raised voice. Instead, parties on all sides are issuing declarations of love and respect, with calls for a campus-wide dialogue.

Shocking, I know.

Of course, what is shocking is how surprised the reporter seemed by the environment at Westmont or other non-“mainstream schools.” I’m not even sure what those are: non-religious schools, more conservative schools, private schools?

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February 27, 2011 | 9:25 pm

Mahony retires with ‘tainted’ legacy in LA

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Today was Cardinal Roger Mahony’s last day as head of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He turned 75 today, and the pope chose to let Mahony step aside rather than he keep him around after the standard retirement age for bishops.

The LAT addressed Mahony’s legacy earlier this week. I took a look at that story at GetReligion. The AP stepped in yesterday with this look at Mahony’s “tainted” legacy:

Mahony retires Sunday and hopes to cement that legacy by dedicating himself fulltime to the fight for immigration reform. For many, though, the cardinal’s career will instead be defined — and irreparably tainted — by a devastating clergy abuse scandal that unfolded on his watch, first as bishop of Stockton and then as head of nation’s largest archdiocese.

The scandal, which resulted in a $660 million settlement with more than 500 plaintiffs, proved to be the biggest erosion of Mahony’s authority in a church that had already shifted around him with a revived emphasis on orthodoxy and tradition. In his final years in Los Angeles, Mahony has been dogged by hundreds of lawsuits, criminal investigations into clergy abuse in the archdiocese and a bitter legal fight over sealed church files on some of the church’s worst abusive priests.

Even in his final days as archbishop, newly uncovered allegations against an aging priest refocused attention on Mahony’s role and forced the resignation of the archdiocese’s vicar for clergy. Still, Mahony managed to hang on, unlike Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as Boston archbishop over his failure to stop predatory priests.

“In a very paradoxical way, you contrast him with Cardinal Law, and I wonder if there aren’t people in the Vatican who admired Mahony since he hung tough,” said James Hitchcock, a St. Louis University historian who studies American Catholicism. “No one circled the wagons like Mahony.”

So true. For those who covered the clergy sex abuse scandal, it was always difficult to understand how the circumstances could be so similar for Mahony and Law and yet the consequences so dissimilar.

Mahony’s shortcomings made many appearances on this blog. His successor is Bishop Jose Gomez, who has been in L.A. getting acclimated for the past 10 months or so.

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February 26, 2011 | 9:23 pm

Should Christianity have spurred boy to wrestle girl?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Religion comes up in sports in all kinds of ways. This is a sort of new one:

Joel Northrup, a sophomore, and a favorite to win his 112-pound weight class, said he didn’t feel it would be right for him to wrestle Cassy Herkelman, a freshman from Cedar Falls, Ia. It’s against his religious feelings.

That’s from the Wall Street Journal, and I’ll interpret what Joel was saying: It’s not that Joel’s religion, Christianity, says anything explicitly about wrestling (except for maybe the story of Jacob) but Joel is concerned that wrestling a girl would lead to some impure thoughts. Rather than find himself in that situation, he’s just going to avoid the temptation.

Fair enough. What’s odd is how tone-deaf Caryn Rivadeneira, a guest blogger for Christianity Today’s women’s blog, seems to be to Joel’s concerns—and why she thought that Christianity actually should have motivated Joel to wrestle Cassy Herkelman. Rivadeneira wrote:

I applaud Joel’s decision to back away from any seeming violence toward girls. But I wonder why he thinks the Christian faith smiles on violence-for-fun against fellow boys. I’m confident that it doesn’t. My guess is that his decision to default has more to do with his view of who is against him on the mat than it does with actual violence. And I think his refusal has more to do with his cultural view of girls than his Christian faith.

To those who are sympathetic to Joel’s decision, no matter how strong and tough Cassy may be — after all, she made it to the state competition with a 20-13 record — she is still a girl. Therefore, she is too weak. Her girl-hood prevents her from being seen as someone who is gifted by God to use her body and her muscles and her spirit to wrestle. She is a would-be victim on the wrestling mat. Or, she’s a sexual object. But a contender? Nah.

Every time I’ve thought about this story over the past couple of days, I think of my husband, Rafael, on his first day of class at the University of Illinois. To most students, having a girl sit down next to you wouldn’t have been any big deal — a thrill maybe even. But Rafi was coming from an all-boys prep school. He hadn’t sat next to a girl in school since eighth grade. He was thrown for a loop.

Really? I mean, really?! How is wrestling a girl in a competitive atmosphere like sitting next to a girl in a classroom, even for someone from an all-boys school? Sorry, but this is totally out of touch with reality.

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February 24, 2011 | 12:14 pm

CNN: Behind bars, Warren Jeffs retakes control of FLDS

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

If mafia bosses and criminal masterminds can operate their enterprise from behind bars, why not Warren Jeffs? The former leader of a polygamist Mormon sect who has had a lot of legal problems and is awaiting another trial in a Texas jail, Jeffs has retaken control of the FLDS, according to CNN:

Jeffs gave up control of the splinter sect that advocates plural marriages, including marriages that involve girls under 18, after he was convicted in 2007 of rape as accomplice. That conviction was overturned last year. Jeffs is currently awaiting trial in Texas on sexual assault and bigamy charges.

Sources within the church tell CNN that the man who replaced Jeffs as business head of the church, Wendell Nielsen, has resigned and that Jeffs has signed documents retaking control of FLDS.

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February 24, 2011 | 11:57 am

Beck apologizes for likening Reform Jews to radical Islamists

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Type “Glenn Beck apologizes” into a Google search and you’re going to get more than a few hits. Based on an email I received this morning, this one, via MediaBistro’s TV Newser, is what I was looking for:

On the radio this morning, Glenn Beck lead his show with an apology for comments he made Tuesday about rabbis of Reform Judaism. “It’s almost like Islam … radicalized Islam in a way,” said Beck. “Radicalized Islam is less about religion than it is about politics. When you look at the Reform Judaism, it is more about politics.”

Beck called it one of the “worst analogies of all time.”

“I was wrong on this … and I apologize for it,” said Beck. “In this case I did not do enough homework.”

“Somebody has called me ignorant for what I said on Tuesday, and I think that’s a pretty good description of what I said.”

For more on what Beck originally said, read this post.

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February 23, 2011 | 8:28 pm

Arab News: ‘An Israeli conspiracy that never existed’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Unless you didn’t realize that 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance, then you’re well aware of that fact that the Middle East is undergoing a seismic shift. First Tunisia. Then Egypt. Now Libya and whoever else next decides it’s high time for government to answer to the people.

If you believe conspiracy theories popular in the Arab world—and probably increasingly so right now—than you know that Israel is to blame. After all, Israel always is the one to blame for everything that’s wrong in the world, and certainly in the Middle East.

Arab newspapers have made a habit of positing crazy theories about Israeli-trained super rats terrorizing Palestinians and IDF stripper assassins. And that’s what makes this op-ed from the Arab News so remarkable. Written by a retired Saudi naval commodore, the op-ed is titled “An Israeli conspiracy that never existed,” and it goes:

To this day, I see Arabs blaming Israelis for young Arab drug addicts, their poor education, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, bad roads, corruption, lack of democracy, unemployment, 9/11, the division of Sudan, the upheaval in Tunisia and the unrest in Egypt. If Israel can do all these things, then the Israelis are either super humans or we simply enjoy blaming others for our failings.

Powerful words. Read the rest here.

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February 22, 2011 | 3:23 pm

Glenn Beck: Reform Judaism akin to ‘radicalized Islam’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

No matter what you say about the Liberal Jewish theology, it couldn’t be as bad as what Glenn Beck said Tuesday. (Welcome back, old boy.) Speaking on his radio program, Beck said that Reform Judaism is “almost like ... radicalized Islam.”

Why? I’m missing the leaps of logic here, but Beck’s point was based on the premise that many Reform Jews are not spiritual. While it’s true that you can be a pretty good Reform Jew without believing God even exists, Beck’s comment is a bit dated. In fact, spirituality has been making a bit of a comeback in Reform Judaism.

Here’s what Beck said. Keep in mind that there are no “reformed” rabbis, not unless Beck is talking about the spiritual leader at Beit T’Shuvah, a reformed con man. Via Media Matters:

BECK: OK, you have to—hang on just a second. When you talk about rabbis, understand that most—most people who are not Jewish don’t understand that there are the Orthodox rabbis, and then there are the reformed rabbis. Reformed rabbis are generally political in nature. It’s almost like Islam, radicalized Islam in a way, to where it is just—radicalized Islam is less about religion than it is about politics. When you look at the reform Judaism, it is more about politics. I’m not saying that they’re the same on—

To be sure, Beck would not be the first person to say that there is a branch of Judaism in which politics is religion. Steven Windmueller, the dean of the L.A. campus of the primary Reform seminary, told me that years ago. But, for one thing, it’s not true that radical Islam is “less about religion than it is about politics”—it’s about using religion to manipulate politics. Reform Judaism, on the other hand, is religion; it’s just a different interpretation of the Jewish religion.

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February 22, 2011 | 2:14 pm

Somalian pirates murder American missionary sailors

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Sad news today from the pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia: The four Americans who had been taken hostage while sailing around the world handing out Bibles were murdered by their pirate captors. Here’s the story from the Los Angeles Times:

Four U.S. Navy ships had been shadowing the couple’s yacht after it was taken over by the pirates last week off the coast of Oman. Pirates had said it was headed to Somalia.  While negotiations were underway to gain the release of the Americans, U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the Quest. The four Americans had been shot.

According to the U.S. military, the Enterprise is now off the Horn of Africa.

For nearly a decade, Scott and Jean Adam’s home had been the 58-foot custom-made sloop the Quest. Although they docked every so often in Marina del Rey to pick up mail and see friends, the couple spent most of their time sailing to far-flung locales such as the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti and New Zealand.

Posting photos and information on their website, they raved about their travels aboard the Quest. “We’ve decided to ... explore Fiji like petals on a flower,” they wrote about their 2007 trip to the South Pacific.

Now, “This is all of our worst nightmares,” said Scott Stolnitz, a friend of the couple.

NPR’s news blog has a good round-up of the story. And Mollie at GetReligion has a critique of the earlier coverage of the Adams and friends being taken hostage.

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February 21, 2011 | 8:17 pm

Fatwa for revolution in Libya

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Tom Heneghan at FaithWorld shared a surprising story today about Libya Islamic scholars issuing a fatwa in support of popular revolt:

A coalition of Libyan Islamic leaders has issued a fatwa telling all Muslims it is their duty to rebel against the Libyan leadership.  The group also demanded the release of fellow Islamic scholar Sadiq al-Ghriani, who was arrested after criticising the government, and “all imprisoned demonstrators, including many of our young students”.

Calling itself the Network of Free Ulema of Libya, the group of over 50 Muslim scholars said the government and its supporters “have demonstrated total arrogant impunity and continued, and even intensified, their bloody crimes against humanity.”

I’m not sure I get the theology, but I suspect it is based on the fact that the Libyan government is not an Islamic republican government.

This act, of course, is not akin to divine revelation. There are, in fact, fatwa for just about everything—from Salman Rushie and Pokemon to breast feeding and even Elton John performing in Morocco.

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