Archive for the ‘Culture Wars’ Category

WorldViews: Could be the dog days of Irans culture wars

A hound of Tehran. (AFP/Getty)

What do neckties, rappers, Barbie and pet dogs have in common?

For some arch-conservatives in Iran, they are all elements of a Western cultural invasion that needs to be confronted. The biggest and most constant threat to the country was how Irans deputy defense minister, Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan, characterized it in an impassioned speech earlier this year to denounceWestern ways.

The latest swipe came last week. A group of hard-line lawmakers proposed a punishment of 74 lashes and fines up to $2,600 for publicly displaying certainpets, according to the reformist newspaper Shargh. They mentioned monkeys or other animals. But the proposal is clearly aimed at dogs still very rare as pets in Iran, but increasingly appearing as a sort of badge of sophistication among a certain crowd of liberal leaners.

The proposal backed by a relative handful of lawmakers, according tonews reports is unlikely to pass in its current form. But its an instructive study in Irans never-ending identity crises.

In the years after the 1979 Islamic revolution, the opponents of Western influence "Westoxification in the parlance of Iranian leaders had the upper hand. The enforcers of the new order had almost unchallenged authority to quash anything seen as favoring the Great Satan in Washington and its allies. (Except maybe the pre-revolution Lincolns, Cadillacs and other Detroit imports that were simply too cool to destroy.)

Gradually, however, the barriers began to fracture. Music cassettes of Western bands and VCR tapes of Hollywood movies appeared in the 1980s. Then came satellite dishes. Burger joints, pizza places, jeans. The Internet. Mani-pedis. Now, the latest smartphones and tablets are routed through third countries to skirt U.S. economic sanctions. A popular Tehran fast-food place essentially a clone of Hardee's used to play American cartoons on an endless video loop.

On the Web, an on again-off again Instagram account called Rich Kids of Tehran purports to showcase a slice of the capital as blinged out as any Kardashian.

Meanwhile, the current government of President Hassan Rouhani reads like a Western alumni guide. Rouhani studied in Scotland. A top policy adviser, Mahmoud Vaezi, has degrees from colleges in California and started his doctorate at Louisiana State University. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who went to San Francisco State University and the University of Denver, tweets about everything from the ongoing nuclear talks to his achingback.

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WorldViews: Could be the dog days of Irans culture wars

Contra Rusty Reno et al.

The latest frontline in the culture wars has come into focus: In the face of decisions by Catholic universities to extend health care benefits to those who have contracted same-sex, civil marriages, some bishops and some commentators are digging trenches, bringing up the mortars, and lobbing shells. The whole thing puts one in mind of the Western Front in World War I.

Last month, both Creighton University in Omaha and the University of Notre Dame in South Bend announced they would extend health care benefits to same sex couples. The local bishops objected, with Archbishop George Lucas in Omaha issuing a more pointed challenge. Despite [Creighton President] Father Lannons claim that this is not a statement of approval of same sex marriages, this is precisely the message that the University is giving, Archbishop Lucas said in a statement. I am dismayed that the recommendation of the University Benefits Committee is thought to supersede divine law regarding marriage. Nebraska has not (yet) legalized gay marriage. The legal situation there and in Indiana will be murky until the U.S. Supreme Court re-visits the issue.

I understand that bishops think they must hold the line. I understand that they perceive same-sex marriage as a threat to traditional marriage, a confirmation the most people no longer view marriage as equally involving the procreation and rearing of children as about the union of the spouses. Still, it would seem that any assessment of the pastoral challenge would likely start with the question Why is it that gays and lesbians are the only people who seem to even want to get married these days?

Rusty Reno, the editor of First Things, has now jumped into the fray with possibly the most offensive column I have read all year, a distinction for which there is some degree of high-quality competition. Reno states that the universities decisions are nothing more than cultural capitulation, agreeing with Archbishop Lucas that the decisions send the signal that the Church approves of same sex marriage, and then introduces this analogy:

Im sure Pius XII would have denied that signing a Concordat with Hitlers Germany meant he approvedof Nazism. But it conferred legitimacy and dramatically undercut any basis within the Church for resistance.The same goes for the concordat many Catholic institutions are signing with gay marriage. It confers legitimacy on the sexual revolution and undercuts resistance.

Reno is a bright man and he holds the title of editor, but he seems to have forgotten the first iron law of journalism: No Nazi analogies. If Reno believes that those who advocate for same sex marriage are evil, surely he will grant that there is no evil quite like Nazi evil, and so his analogy is overwrought. I will note one happy consequence of Renos alarmist and offensive analogy: This is surely the first time Fr. Lannon and Fr. John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame, have been cast in the role of Pius XII.

One does not go to First Things looking for nuance, but still, Reno might have allowed that America is the only place in the industrialized West where health care benefits are conferred through employment. And, therefore, Catholic employers in the U.S. are involved in the recognition of diverse relationships among their employees that Catholic employers in other countries do not have to face. Still, I do not remember Reno and others complaining when Catholic universities extended health care benefits to divorced and remarried staff members and their families.

Reno is right that there is a moral issue involved but, regrettably, he misses it. If the Catholic Church wishes to be believed when we affirm, as the Catechism affirms, that we respect the innate human dignity of all people, including gays and lesbians, then we have to stop fighting tooth and nail to deny people health care benefits. It does not pass the smell test. I love you, I respect your human dignity, but damn, I am going to make sure you cant get health care, is not exactly a convincing Christian witness. Whatever anyone else does, the Catholic is called to respond with charity, with love. Frustrating access to health care is not loving, it is punitive. Whatever any Catholic institution decides on this issue of extending benefits to same sex couples, it will not only say something about those couples, it will say something about our Catholic institutions. As Fr. Jenkins said in his statement, We recognize an urgent call to welcome, support and cherish gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, who have been too often marginalized and even ostracized, and many of whom bear the scars of such treatment.

Conservative culture warriors like Reno, however, do not worry about the actual impact on gay and lesbian staffers at any Catholic university, hence the ease with which he compares them to Nazis. They are more concerned with making a point. If anyone is looking for an example of ideology getting in the way of the Gospel, here it is.

I also continue to be stunned by the coarseness of the argument that extending benefits constitutes recognition, and recognition constitutes approval. Mr. Reno and his friends should go to Google Images and enter Pope John Paul II Cuba. They will see pictures of Pope John Paul II shaking hands with Castro, at the presidential palace in Havana. The pope referred to Castro as Mr. President. They stood together for the playing of the Cuban national anthem. In some sense, this was recognition of Castros regime, but did any one construe that recognition as approval?

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Contra Rusty Reno et al.

Cardinal who led US culture wars over marriage, gays, loses another top job at Vatican

Published November 08, 2014

Pope Francis, right, meets with members of the Italian Adult Scout Movement (MASCI) in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)(The Associated Press)

VATICAN CITY American Cardinal Raymond Burke, a fervent opponent of abortion and gay marriage, has been removed by Pope Francis from another top Vatican post.

Burke's removal as head of the Holy See's supreme court was expected. Last year Francis took Burke off the Vatican's powerful Congregation for Bishops. While previously leading the St. Louis diocese, Burke was a vocal hardliner in a campaign which included calls for Catholic politicians supporting legalized abortion to be denied Communion.

Francis on Saturday transferred Burke from the Vatican court job to the largely ceremonial post as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a charity.

Burke helped lead a conservative backlash against any possible Vatican loosening of rules banning Communion for divorced, remarried Catholics. He also questioned Francis' denunciation of excesses of capitalism.

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Cardinal who led US culture wars over marriage, gays, loses another top job at Vatican

North Carolina race shows how parties have traded places on culture wars – Video


North Carolina race shows how parties have traded places on culture wars
Republican Senate challenger Thom Tillis has been almost silent on previously hot-button social issues while Democrat Kay Hagan has gone on the offensive In ...

By: rosanow

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North Carolina race shows how parties have traded places on culture wars - Video

Homosexuality: are the 'culture wars' coming to an end?

When a conservative Christian denomination sets up a conference about homosexuality, you know that there are going to be fireworks.

Albert Mohler, a speaker at the Southern Baptist Convention's 'The Gospel, Homosexuality and the future of Marriage' conference.

This week the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission hosted a conference entitled, 'The Gospel, Homosexuality and the future of Marriage'. The SBC is the second largest Christian denomination in the US, so has a great deal of influence.

But though it received a lot of criticism, the outcome of the conference seems to be more positive than might have been anticipated. With the subject of sexuality being the main weapon of both sides in the 'culture wars' of liberal vs conservative, at least in the US, the outcome of the conference and the comments from participants might indicate that there could be a lessening of hostility between the two sides.

The SBC is often seen as the voice of conservative Christianity: it "self-consciously seeks to set the tone for conservative evangelical teaching and witness on human sexuality" according to writer and academic Jacob Lupfer.If this is the case, then this side of the 'culture wars' is showing a considerably more conciliatory tone without changing its theological stance on the subject.

Rachel Held Evans, a prominent blogger and generally a critic of conservative Christianity,tweeted objections to the conference, and retweeted the criticisms of LGBT Christians on twitter.

The ERLC did come under strong criticism from people who argue for total inclusion and equality for the LGBT community. For example, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWB) tried to campaign against the theological stance of the SBC, for holding that homosexual sex is a sin. In the end, they only achieved half their goal of getting 1000 signatures in support of their views ahead of the conference.

However a number of commentators and attenders noted a significant shift in the attitude of the SBC at the conference. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, publicly repented of his previous denial that homosexual orientation exists. Russell Moore, a senior figure within SBC, stated that ex-gay therapy can be harmful, and spoke against anti-gay bullying.

There were a number of LGBT voices speaking at the conference, though all of them signed up to conservative understanding of the Bible on the issue. One was the UK's Sam Allberry, author of Is God anti-gay?. Another was Rosaria Butterfield, now a pastor's wife, who once identified as a lesbian. Professor Christopher Yuan at the Moody Bible Institute also spoke about his sexuality and celibacy.

The liberal website ThinkProgress found that pastors are not changing their viewsabout whether homosexuality is a sin, but that they are rethinking the way in which they relate to the LGBT community: "They felt torn between what their faith tells them is true and what they hear from LGBT people about the negative way those messages are received," said its report. "Rather than needing reinforcement about what the Scripture tells them, they were focused on learning how to improve their tone to be more loving and respectful, how to truly treat LGBT people as more than just their identities, and how they might reconsider how much to emphasize the sin of homosexuality."

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Homosexuality: are the 'culture wars' coming to an end?