WaPo's Quinn Bills Oprah as 'True Religious Leader'; Likens Her to the
Sally Quinn pronounced Oprah Winfrey "America's high priestess" and a "true religious leader" in a Thursday item on The Washington Post's "On Faith" website. Quinn, who waxed ecstatic over Oprah Winfrey's final episode, even went so far to compare Winfrey's last hurrah to a papal Mass: "The pope couldn't have done better."
The writer launched right into painting Oprah as a spiritual guru in…
Salon: Pawlenty 'Has His Own Rev. Wright
Mild-mannered Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty may have his own Rev. Wright, Salon.com's Justin Elliott sensationally alerted readers of the War Room blog Thursday morning.
The reason, Elliott argues: the former Minnesota governor's preacher believes in manmade global warming and wants a liberal immigration reform policy enacted into law:
Howard Dean: Far-Right Hates Muslims, Gays and Immigrants
As readers are likely aware, former Vermont governor Howard Dean is a contributor to CNBC, and in this role, he continues to say the darnedest things.
On Monday's "The Last Word," Dean said of the far-right, "They hate Muslims, they hate gays, they hate immigrants, and the rhetoric in the primaries shows that" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
What Part of the Apostles' Creed Does Sally Quinn Not Understand
In her May 20 Moderator's View blog post at "On Faith," entitled "May 21, 2011: Not the end of the world," Washington Post's Sally Quinn at one point describes a belief in the "end times" as one held by "a large segment of Christians."
But that's kind of like saying "a large segment of Hindus believe in reincarnation."
CBS Smacks Catholic Church Over New Clergy Sex Abuse Report
CBS's Elaine Quijano filed a slanted report on Wednesday's Evening News about the new report on the Catholic priest child sex abuse scandal. All but one of the sound bites which Quijano played during the segment either leaned negative against the Catholic Church or completely slammed the religious body.
Anchor Katie Couric heralded the negative reaction about the report from some quarters in…
Anderson Cooper Hammers Catholic Bishops' Clergy Abuse Report – But
CNN's Anderson Cooper heavily scrutinized the new study of the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal Wednesday, but featured no one from the church's side to defend the report. Cooper gave his own critical commentary of the study, voiced the concerns of many clergy abuse victims, and brought on for a soft interview a disillusioned Catholic priest who is resigning from the clergy.
However,…
Newsweek Slams 'Theological Bully' Franklin Graham, Tilting His Politi
Newsweek religion editor Lisa Miller wrote a story on "The Fight Over Billy Graham's Legacy," but the most notable thing that comes out of it is Miller's loathing of Rev. Franklin Graham (no relation). Miller clearly believes he's mangling his father's moderation, especially when it comes to Islam:
Franklin — who’s been accused of being a rhetorical and theological bully, saying, for example…
Apocalypse Now
Politicians and political activists frequently declare the end of the world will occur if their candidate isn't elected, or if the debt ceiling isn't raised. Some conservative Christians think the end is on the way because of behavior and practices they judge immoral. Somehow the country, not to mention the planet, survives and when "doomsday" passes, the prognosticators live to predict…
What Happened on American Airlines Flight
If you listen to the passengers and crew who flew on American Airlines Flight 1561 last weekend, there's no doubt about what happened on their harrowing trip: A Yemeni man shrieking "Allahu akbar!" at the top of his lungs more than 30 times rushed the cockpit door twice intending to take down the plane and kill everyone on board.
The clammy, sweaty lone male passenger exhibited classic…
WaPo Critic Hails Novel 'Re-Imagining' Jesus As Bisexual Free-love Adv
Novelist and infamous liar James Frey has a new novel out, "The Final Testament of The Holy Bible," which he pompously holds forth as a "theoretical third volume of the Bible" that conceives of a second coming of the Christ in the person of "an alcoholic bisexual living in the Bronx who impregnates prostitutes, titillates priests and becomes the ultimate seducer himself," John Murray of the…
WaPo Overlooks Boehner Speech, Highlights Students Asking the Speaker
When a liberal Democrat is Speaker of the House, everything they say is newsworthy, but when a conservative Republican is Speaker, the most newsworthy people are angry protesters of the Speaker. This came true on Sunday, when The Washington Post story on Speaker John Boehner's commencement address at Catholic University of America in D.C. by Katherine Shaver was all about the protesters, and…
CBS Highlights Liberal Catholic Faculty Attacking Boehner on the Poor
Saturday’s The Early Show on CBS gave attention to a number of liberal faculty members at Catholic University who, in a letter, questioned House Speaker John Boehner’s Catholic credentials on helping the poor ahead of the Ohio Republican’s speech at the university’s commencement.
CBS’s Betty Nguyen noted that "not everyone" at the university "is looking forward to" his speech, and recounted…
Abortionist Rants on Daily Kos: 'Extreme Religion Stops a Thinking Bra
Denizens of the Daily Kos were delighted Monday by a more-than-6,300-word rant by an abortionist from Texas bylined "Beket." The headline was "Extreme Religion Stops a Thinking Brain -- and Kills Women and Teenage Girls." Naturally, it was "One of the best diaries I have read on DKos," wrote one thrilled commenter. "Well-written. Well-thought out."
Dr. "Beket" began: "I am a proud, even…
WaPo 'On Faith' Contributor Waxes Poetic About 'God the Mother
Okay, so it's not as immediately offensive as say calling for support of Planned Parenthood on Mother's Day, but Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite's "God the Mother" post at "On Faith" on May 7 is another example of how the site thumbs its nose at traditional Christian orthodoxy:
I always miss my mother a lot on Mother’s Day. My mother died when I was in my early twenties. Yet, through being “…
