Community of Christ Extends Marriage to Same-Sex Couples
In their National Conference held April 19-21, The Community of Christ (formerly The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) moved to extend marriage to same-sex couples. The specific...
View ArticleLDS Church Supports Move to Include Gay Scouts
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a statement in support of the shift by the Boy Scouts of America that will allow gay Scouts to fully participate within the Scout program. I...
View ArticleMeg Lanker-Simons is my friend.
Surviving Wyoming is no longer about surviving the brutal weather and climate (like it was the pioneers) but it is about surviving the brutal and cruel people. Meg Lanker-Simons is my friend. I am her...
View ArticleA Moral Critique of Guns and Gun Culture
I am working on a theological case against guns. Not so much for gun control, but against guns. My thinking keeps coming back to a recent appearance by Jeff McMahan on the podcast Philosophy Bites. You...
View ArticleBaptists Set to Ditch Boy Scouts
CNN is reporting that the Southern Baptist Convention will be abandoning the Boys Scouts of America over the BSA’s decision to allow openly gay youth to participate in Boy Scout units. The Southern...
View ArticleBen Bernanke is a Rawlsian!
Well, maybe. In a speech at the Baccalaureate Ceremony at Princeton University on Sunday, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke was channelling some heavy luck egalitarianism along with some New...
View ArticlePower to The United Nations
I am very excited to see that Samantha Power is being appointed as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Power is a strong advocate for a liberal foreign policy that focuses on human rights....
View ArticleSee How to Properly Respond to Michelle Bachmann
A good lesson from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (h/t: TPM) This should be everyone’s reaction to anything said by Michelle Bachmann. "Like" Approaching Justice on Facebook
View ArticleWhoa…wait…are Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind novels about gay marriage?
Will conservative Christians ever recover from those mean gay bullies? The Daily Show’s Samantha Bee investigates: The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political...
View ArticleIck! That Guy is Married to a Dude!
George Takei of both Star Trek and Facebook fame has penned a beautiful and insightful essay in the Washington post about the “ick factor” and how we our society has treated homosexuals. Here is a...
View ArticleIs God an American?
Of course, not. While I cringe at the heavy doses of American exceptionalism (often in the most cheesy forms) within American religious culture, maybe there is something valuable in viewing American...
View ArticleUntil we all view Trayvon….
…as our own son, nothing will change. My son Shem almost always wears a hoodie…and he prefers to have candy in that hoodie. He does not face the same racism that Trayvon did. Luckily, we also have not...
View Article“My Name is Emmett Till” by Emmylou Harris (Hymns of Social Justice)
Emmylou Harris performed this in 2011. It struck me as appropriate given recent events. I am starting a series called “Hymns of Social Justice.” The series will feature social justice themed songs from...
View ArticleThomas Paine on Monarchy and Hereditary Succession (Happy Birthday to the New...
One of my favorite sections of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is his section on the monarchy and hereditary succession. It is one of the most interesting uses of a social contract-style historical...
View Article“I Don’t Mind Stealing Bread…” Remembering Mitch Snyder (Hymns of Social...
“Hunger Strike” by Temple of the Dog brings us a duet by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. The band is largely the line-up which we better recognize as Pearl Jam, including Jeff...
View ArticlePope Francis? Or should we just call him Pope Social Justice?!?!
I am totally loving Pope Francis so far. I am not Catholic. I am sure we disagree on quite a few social and theological matters. Heck, I seem to disagree with pretty much everyone on a range of things...
View ArticleAnother Liberal at Church!! (Adventures in Sunday School)
We are loving our time here in Las Vegas. In addition to the abundance of In-N-Out Hamburger locations, we are very much loving our LDS congregation here in Vegas. They turned out in large numbers to...
View Article“…we are Mormons. We do not kill people or animals.”
“Shem, we are Mormons. We do not kill people or animals,” said Geneva (7) to her brother Shem (11) as we passed a creepy gun shop near our new home in Las Vegas which invites all to come and try out...
View ArticleBradley Manning is Acquitted of Aiding the Enemy
Both Politico and the Huffington Post are reporting that Bradley Manning has been acquitted of aiding the enemy. This was the most serious charge facing him. It was also the charge which could have...
View ArticlePower Confirmed and Heading to the UN
Today, by a vote of 87-10, the United States Senate confirmed the nomination of human rights activist Samantha Power to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. On June 5, when Power was nominated by...
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