Posts in Opinion
Covering The Goyim Defense League: Does News About Antisemitism Inspire Copycats?

(OPINION) Does giving antisemitism extensive coverage — warranted though it may be — prompt more antisemites to act out publicly? Does publicity embolden and thus spark potential copycat antisemitism?

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After The Fall: Many Religious Believers In Afghanistan Are In Hiding, With Good Cause

(Opinion) Afghanistan still has major issues when it comes to religious freedom. Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom said, "People are being hunted down and beaten and are threatened with death if they don't betray members of their families who are considered apostates" by the Taliban.

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What Is Walking Meditation?

(OPINION) For Thich Nhat Hanh, the late Vietnamese monk who popularized mindfulness in the West, walking was not simply a way to get from one place to another, or an activity to be reserved for a perfect forest path. It could be a profound contemplative practice putting people in touch with their breath, their bodies and the Earth.

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Comparisons To Nazis That Minimize Their Evil And Exaggerate Modern Issues Must Stop

(OPINION) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comment to a Jewish MP that, “Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas” has rightfully drawn sharp criticism and rebuke. Under no circumstances can his comments be justified. Unfortunately, his is but the latest — and worst — misuse of the Nazi image.

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How Canada Truckers' Protest Parallels American-Style Christian Nationalism

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the parallels to American-style Christian nationalism in Canadian truckers’ Freedom Convoy protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Plus, catch up, as always, on the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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Canadian Government To Be Reviewed For Its Response To The Uyghur Genocide

(OPINION) In February 2022, lawyers for the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, a nongovernmental organization, applied for a judicial review of whether the Canadian government’s inaction amid the ongoing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China violates its international obligations.

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Which Is A More 'Christian' Chant: 'Let's Go Brandon!' Or 'Pray For Biden!'

(OPINION) Reporter Kelli Stavast interviewed the NASCAR winner Brandon Brown and said that the crowd was cheering, “Let’s Go, Brandon,” when the crowd was actually cursing President Joe Biden. The Rev. Seth Carter was surprised when people of the church started adding the slogan “Let’s Go, Brandon” into regular conversations.

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Entering A Religion-Beat Minefield: What Is The Proper Definition Of The Word 'Cult'?

(OPINION) Take a deeper look into what it means when a type of religion is considered a cult. The Guy proposes this definition: A marginal religious group we’re not supposed to like much or at all that deviates from accepted practices or long-familiar beliefs, typically controlled by a dictatorial leader or leaders and often isolated from mainstream society.

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We Can't Ignore Calls For Attacks Against Muslims In India

(OPINION) Recent years have seen several incidents in India that should have raised the alarm and should have been monitored and analyzed along the lines of the serious risk of genocide and other atrocities. These incidents include the government’s systematic discrimination against the Muslim minority in India.

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In Post-Pandemic America, Will Sagging Church Health Damage Public Health?

(OPINION) America's religious congregations have, over all, suffered steady erosion in attendance, membership and vitality since around 2000. Analysts fret that worse may occur after the current COVID-19 emergency finally subsides because myriads of members are now accustomed to worshiping online rather than in person.

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Jokes And Big Questions: The Babylon Bee Meets With Elon Musk And Learns A Few Things

(Opinion) The Babylon Bee sat down with Elon Musk to talk about topics including why entrepreneurs are fleeing California, sustainable energy, superheroes, the physics of reusable rockets, cyborgs, how wokeness threatens humor and the future of a planet near an expanding sun. The podcast concluded with Elon Musk talking about his faith.

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COVID-19 Is Causing Us To Lose Ground In The Fight To End Female Genital Mutilation

(OPINION) Female genital mutilation stands for more than a medical procedure that inflicts temporary pain and suffering. FGM is a severe violation of human rights of women and girls. FGM is a human rights violation that results in physical and psychological consequences that women and girls have to deal with for the rest of their lives.

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In Reportage On Russia And Ukraine, Don't Neglect The Importance Of Two Rival Churches

(OPINION) Ukraine's ecclesiastical history, like its political history, is highly complex. Whether the nation faces a military invasion or less bloody subversion and hoped-for domination, journalists these next few years will need to understand and depict the religious aspect of Ukraine’s nationalism and resistance against Russian expansionism.

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Does European Multiculturalism Threaten Women’s Rights?

(REVIEW) “Prey” is a meticulously researched book, and Ali offers us page after page of grim statistics to support her thesis that the surge of immigration into Europe in 2015 has led to a surge in sexual violence.

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Online Church And Virtual Spirituality In The Pandemic Age: Can We Have A Wordle, Please?

This week’s Weekend Plug-in goes high-tech — with stories about online worship, virtual reality church and Wordle as ritual. Plus, catch up, as always, on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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After Grim Reports For Canadian Churches, How Will They Respond?

(OPINION) After seeing 2018 General Synod reports, the Anglican Church of Canada’s research and statistics expert produced an analysis that said projections of the data indicate that there will be no members, attenders or givers in the Anglican Church of Canada by approximately 2040.

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Why Are People Calling Bitcoin A Religion?

(OPINION) Read enough about Bitcoin, and you’ll inevitably come across people who refer to the cryptocurrency as a religion. Bloomberg’s Lorcan Roche Kelly called Bitcoin “the first true religion of the 21st century.” There is even a Church of Bitcoin, founded in 2017, that explicitly calls legendary Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto its “prophet.”

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The Only Winner Of The 2022 Beijing Olympics Will Be The Chinese Government

(OPINION) The 2022 Beijing Games are surrounded by controversy. The Chinese government is accused of genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. Evidence shows the Uyghur people are held in concentration camps, forcibly sterilized and subjected to forced labor, torture, rape and sexual violence.

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