religion
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Red Lip Theology: Yes, Progressive Church Girls Do Exist
Currently, I am navigating a depressive episode. While I have access to the resources (therapy, medicine, communal support) to ensure my wellness, living with depression can be difficult. The triggers come fast, and when it hits, all you can do is ride the wave. But while I was talking to one of my best friends…
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Police Bust Religious Group Accused of Using Child Slave Labor to Run Fish Markets
A traveling minister and his disciples in North Carolina have been accused of using child slavery to fund their “alternative religious group” and its operations for years, authorities say. Police in North Carolina have arrested four people—and have open warrants on six more—in a case of suspected child slavery. According to multiple outlets, an “alternative…
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Umar Johnson Is the Black Church
The Hoteps are hilarious. We should all make fun of them. I still find it hard to believe that people actually cape for Umar Johnson. I’d never fall for it. I’m too educated to buy into that illogical nonsense. I pray to God that I would never be that stupid. The Bible says we need…
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What a Recovering Catholic and Out Gay Man Makes of the Priest Who Just Came Out
On Dec. 17, the Rev. Gregory Greiten shared a secret with parishioners at the St. Bernadette Catholic Parish: “I am gay.” Greiten was then greeted with a standing ovation, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The next day, Greiten wrote a column in the National Catholic Reporter. As someone who now uses the descriptor “recovering…
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For the Love of God? Evangelical Drug Traffickers Are Terrorizing Practitioners of Afro-Brazilian Religions
Candomblé priestess Carmen Flores was leaving her house three months ago when seven armed men confronted her. They demanded that she destroy the sacred contents of her house, a spiritual home for more than 125 followers of the Candomblé Afro-Brazilian religion. “Since my orisha is Oxum, our house was all about love,” said Flores, 66,…
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Red Lip Theology: Every Sista Deserves to Be a Stunna
The first time my mama caught me trying to cut off my lips, I was 10. Kids called me “bubblicious lips” and “Wanda” so much, I don’t think they knew my real name (and I hate Jamie Foxx to this day). As far as I was concerned, performing this minor surgical procedure in our tiny…
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What My Frayed Relationship With My Mother Has Taught Me About Grace and Mercy
On Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of being a returning guest on the WDET radio show Detroit Today With Stephen Henderson, who was here in Washington, D.C., recording from NPR headquarters. I was there to talk about the article I wrote a few months ago about my frayed relationship with my mother because of…
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Donald Trump’s White Christian Supremacy
Donald J. Trump is the antithesis of a true follower of Christ. His xenophobic assault against Muslims, racist remarks about Mexicans, troubled history with women and sympathy for neo-Nazis make him remarkably unqualified to represent God’s teachings. He has rarely—if ever, really—mentioned faith as an essential force in his life, though, as a presidential candidate…
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‘KKK Hate Muslims, We Will Kill You’: Police Investigating Hateful Messages Left at Home of Muslim Family in NY
A Muslim family living in Nassau County, part of New York’s Long Island, discovered hateful, threatening messages in their mailbox on two separate occasions, leading police to launch a hate crime investigation. According to ABC7NY, the message read, “KKK Hate Muslims, we will kill you, Jesus loves you,” along with the image of a swastika…
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Southern Baptists Are Apparently Cool With White Supremacy: Update
: Updated Thursday, June 15, 2017, 10:52 a.m. EDT: After a vociferous public outcry, the Southern Baptist Convention voted in favor of a resolution to condemn the white supremacist movement called the “alt-right” on Wednesday. The vote was met with a standing ovation from the 5,000 members gathered for the conference, which had refused to…