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Newly created, updated,
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Updated essays:

As of 2009-DEC-11, our dedicated server in Dallas, TX contained 5,100 essays and menus. This includes our home page, thousands of menus and many thousands of essays. We update many dozens of essays each week. We continually add to our interesting quotes section; we update our news of religious tolerance, and religious intolerance and similar topics frequently.

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Essays planned for the near future:

We estimate that we need to write at least another two thousand essays before our web site will be reasonably complete. Even then, there will probably be new "hot" topics emerge with a ethical and religious content -- like polygamous marriages, equal rights for transsexuals, etc. These will necessitate the writing of new articles.

We maintain a list of new topics about which we are currently working on or plan to write "someday."  We have a larger list for internal use that, sadly, numbers in the many thousands of topics.

In recent months, the conflict between religious conservatives and sexual minorities -- defined both by their sexual orientation and gender identity -- have monopolize much of the news.

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New and rewritten essays:

During the past four months, we have posted new or rewritten essays on the following topics:

2010-FEB:

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2010 JAN:

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This month, we recommend the book: "The Evolution of God" by Robert Wright

From The Evolution of God website:

"Robert Wright takes us on a sweeping journey through history, unveiling a discovery of crucial importance to the present moment: there is a pattern in the evolution of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and a 'hidden code' in their scriptures. Reading these scriptures in light of the circumstances surrounding their creation, Wright reveals the forces that have repeatedly moved the Abrahamic faiths away from belligerence and intolerance to a higher moral plane. And he shows how these forces could today let these faiths reassert their deep proclivity toward harmony and reconciliation. What's more, his analysis raises the prospect of a second kind of reconciliation: the reconciliation of science and religion."

bullet Same-sex marriage in Maryland: (Updated)
bullet Quotations. Lack of protection for same-sex couples. Lawsuit. Appeal.
bullet Constitutional amendment, Impeachment, Appeal ruling.
bullet Pro and con SSM bills introduced
bullet Marriage equality bill. Recognition of out-of-state SSMs. Poll results.
 
bullet Same-sex marriage in Washington DC: referendum proposed again. Lawsuit proceeds
 
bullet Beliefs of Wiccans

bullet Challenge the constitutionality of Prop. 8 in federal court:
bullet Initial reactions; public viewing of the trial
bullet Conflicting worldviews; future trends in public support/opposition to SSM
bullet Comments before the trial: slogans, remarks, webmaster looses cool
bullet Testimony at the trial
bullet Analysis of the Southern Baptists' Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission's Amicus Curiae submission

bullet Hawaiian bill HB444 to legalize civil unions is being reconsidered

bullet An essay donated by Tricia B: "The Baha'i faith and homosexuality"

bullet Public opinion polls on same-sex marriage (SSM)
bullet SSMs and inter-racial marriages; Gallup surveys; Pew surveys.
bullet Angus-Reid & other national polls. Polls of high school seniors.
bullet Peter D. Hart, Gallup and Newsweek polls.
bullet Newsweek polls (Cont'd). Conclusions

bullet The Mennonite churches and homosexuality
bullet About the Mennonite Church. Statements on the lesbian & gay issue: 1980 to 1987
bullet More statements: 1988 to 1998
bullet More statements: 1999 to now
bullet Censuring of congregations. GLBT resources, books, etc.

bullet "Post-abortion syndrome:
bullet Terminology, summary, symptoms, and statements about studies.
bullet Who are vulnerable? Action by Congress. Lack of comprehensive research.
bullet Available studies. Do pro-life activities contribute to PAS? Experience. Support.
bullet Conflicting statements about PAS by various agencies

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2009-DEC: 29 essays:

bullet This month, we recommend the book: "The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon" by Marcus J. Borg & John Dominic Crossan.

The authors approach the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) as a historical document made up of books written by very human authors who were trying to promote their own belief systems, even at the expense of Jesus' message. They do not assume that Paul actually wrote all of the 13 books that Christianity has long associated with Paul. They follow the conclusions of liberal religious historians by identifying only seven of the 13 books as having been actually authored by Paul. They suggest that the other six books were written by a person or persons unknown and contain major distortions and corruptions of Jesus' and Paul's beliefs. Conservative Christians who believe the Bible to be inerrant will find this book quite offensive.
bullet Anti-GLB bill proposed in Uganda
bullet Historic beliefs; Current status; 2007 petition
bullet Proposed legislation. Responses
 
bullet Recognizing same-sex marriages in Washinton DC that were performed elsewhere:
bullet Petition to terminate recognition of such marriages
bullet Ruling of the Board. Reactions to the ruling
 
bullet Allowing same-sex couples to marry in Washington DC:
bullet Bill introduced to legalize SSM in DC. Hearings held on the bill & referendum
bullet Religious freedom aspects of the bill
bullet Hearings before two city committees
bullet Reaction by a Roman Catholic academic & agency
 
bullet Bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey
 
bullet How the public rates clergy for honesty and ethics. Beliefs that are stable, changing, unexpected
 
bullet The 2009 edition of the "Christmas Wars"
bullet More Christmas War events
 
bullet Religious discrimination built into the Constitutions of seven U.S. states
 
bullet Bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington DC passed by Council
 
bullet Religious freedom:
bullet The transition from freedom of belief to the freedom to discriminate
bullet Religious freedom as it existed in the past
bullet The new meaning of "religious freedom"
bullet Religious freedom aspects of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington, DC
 
bullet Was Jesus born in a home, stable, or cave?
 
bullet In what town was Jesus born: Bethlehem or the other Bethlehem? (Major update)
 
bullet Physician assisted suicide:
bullet The verbal battle
bullet Ethical aspects
bullet Policies of various faith groups
bullet Novel advertising program
 
bullet Agnostics and Agnosticism  (Major update)
bullet Quotations. Etymology. History. Beliefs of Agnostics.
bullet Agnostic-Atheists. Agnostic-Theists. More definitions. Famous Agnostics.
bullet Agnostic: Numbers, Internet resources, Books.

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2009-NOV: 25 essays:

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This month, we recommend the book: "Jesus was a liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All" by Rev. Scotty McLennan Amazon writes:

"For the millions of people who identify as liberal Christians. In McLennan's bold call to reclaim ownership of Christianity, he advocates a sense of religion based not on doctrinal readings of scripture but on the humanity behind Christ's teachings. He addresses such topics as intelligent design, abortion, same sex marriage, war. torture and much, much more. As he says in the Preface, 'We liberal Christians know in our hearts that there is much more to life than seems to meet the rational eye of atheists; yet we find it hard to support supernatural claims about religion that fly in the face of scientific evidence'."

bullet Preventing future genocides through government action
 
bullet Progressive Christianity:
bullet Overview. Who are progressives? An analogy.
bullet TCPC's eight points. Crosswalk America trek. Progressive groups.
bullet More liberal and progressive Christian websites and blogs
bullet Books and periodicals
bullet Books for kids and teens who are progressive Christians, etc.
 
bullet Anti-Muslim hoax Email about Holocaust education
 
bullet Religious misinformation, disinformation, lies, darn lies, statistics, etc. on the Internet
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What convinced us to start reporting on religious misinformation on the Internet

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Misrepresenting an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" sitcom
 

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Causes and examples of religiously-motivated conflict, violence, oppression, etc.
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Possible causes, aggravating factors, examples
 

bullet Bill to allow same-sex couples to marry in DC
 
bullet "I Believe" license plates:
bullet "I believe" plate in Florida
bullet Florida's Christian plate revisited
bullet "I believe" plates in South Carolina
 
bullet The Manhattan Declaration
bullet Introduction: authors, content, support, and preamble
bullet Analysis of the preamble. Divisions within Christianity
bullet Analysis of the declaration and life sections
bullet Analysis of the marriage and religious freedom sections
bullet Reactions to the declaration
bullet More reactions
 
bullet Religious intolerance and oppression in Turkey

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2009-OCT: 24 essays:

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This month, we recommended the book: "Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus" by Robin Meyers. Amazon writes:

"Meyers takes the best of biblical scholarship and recasts these core Christian concepts to exhort the church to pursue an alternative vision of the Christian life: Jesus as Teacher, not Savior; Christianity as Compassion, not Condemnation; Prosperity as Dangerous, not Divine; Discipleship as Obedience, not Control; Religion as Relationship, not Righteousness. This is not a call to the church to move to the far left or to try something brand new. Rather, it is the recovery of something very old. Saving Jesus from the Church shows us what it means to be a Christian and how to follow Jesus' teachings today."

bullet The Baha'i faith and homosexuality:
bullet Introduction: Baha'i beliefs. Science-religion conflict. Keeping a proper perspective
bullet Baha'i LGBTs on the Internet, agitating for full acceptance
 
bullet The cross memorial in the Mojave National Preserve:
bullet Description of the cross and its history. What the cross signifies to people.
bullet Church/state separation. Lawsuit filed. 2002 court ruling. Bill in Congress.
bullet Case upheld on appeal, twice. Video of cross. Another appeal. Final appeal
bullet

A possible compromise. Comments on the cross & lawsuit

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Supreme Court briefs filed. Oral arguments made. Possible impacts of the ruling.
 

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Statement about recovered memory therapy by almost 100 experts
 

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Same-sex marriage referendum in Maine:
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Are the fears generated by anti-same-sex-marriage ads valid?

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Public opinion poll results
 

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The "Dr. Phil" TV program & sexual orientation
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Overview: The two solitudes, and their resolution

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Analysis of the "I'm gay, OK" episode of 2005-OCT-19

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Analysis of the "Relationship Surprises" episode of 2009-OCT-08
 

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Federal hate crimes legislation:
bullet Bill signed into law:
bullet Confusion over hate crimes: what they are and what they are not
bullet Background. Bill becomes law. Positive reactions
bullet More positive reactions
bullet Deceptive and negative reactions
bullet More negative reactions. Author's comments

 
bullet Washington state referendum 71 on enhanced domestic partnership
 
bullet Oklahoma's restrictive abortion laws 

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