On the basis of the accounts I've read, the “journalist” who produced the story infiltrated this accountability group, lied about his purposes, and then broke the promise of confidentiality he made to get in.
Posts Tagged ‘ religion ’
Academics ‘Discover’ Religion Makes You Racist
Seeking to broaden the scope of psychological pathologies associated with conservatism, academics now turn their meta-analytical barrels on religion. University of Southern California social psychologist Wendy Wood, in “Why Don’t We Practice What We Preach? A Meta-Analytic Review of Religious Racism,” delves into the “religion-racism paradox” and discovers that racism is deeply embedded in organized religion which, by its very nature, encourages people to accept one fundamental belief system as superior to all others. The required value judgment creates a kind of us-versus-them conflict, in which members of a religious group develop ethnocentric attitudes toward anyone perceived as different. The problem for those benighted followers of organized religion is their moral sense of right and wrong. “Religion creates a very strong sense of a moral right and wrong within the group,” says Wood. “When you do that, members of the group will be more likely to derogate anyone who is not part of it.” Wood and her co-authors Deborah Hall of Duke University and David Matz of Augsburg College focused their “study” on Christians, “mostly white and Protestant.” The problem, it seems, is that these white Protestants are more likely than agnostics and atheists to rate conservative “life values” as
Review: ‘The Invention of Lying’
Ricky Gervais’s The Invention of Lying ironically ends up confirming a good many traditional religious ideas.
A Certain Truth in ‘The Invention of Lying’
There is something in The Invention of Lying on which all parties should be able to agree, S. T. Karnick writes.
Thoughts on Arthur C. Clarke
The acclaimed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke was difficult to categorize. That’s a compliment, but it also means much important critical work remains to be done.
Monk and God
In the absence of God, humans seek ultimate control over the world—and never find it. TAC correspondent Dean Abbott examines the religious implications of the USA Network show Monk.
“Golden Compass” or Scary Trojan Horse?
We’re a week away from the opening of The Golden Compass, the new film based on the first volume of Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" trilogy, and the pre-release hype has crescendoed to a deafening roar. The central issue is whether the film will influence innocent tykes to become atheists, and whether that would be a bad thing if it happened. Certainly Pullman has made it perfectly clear in all his public statements and in the trilogy of fantasy novels that yes, he is an atheist, and yes, he would very much like to see all religious belief done away with if such a thing were possible.
More Thoughts on “Saving Grace”
"Bubba," a regular reader of this site, has sent us his thoughts on the new TNT TV program Saving Grace, in a comment on my article on that show and AMC-TV’s Mad Men. I think readers will benefit from Bubba’s analysis, so I append it here with gratitude to their thoughtful author. Sam: I was wondering whether you would review Saving Grace and what your opinion would be. I looked at the show from a few angles (from the couch, from the kitchen grabbing a snack, from the recliner)and generally liked what I saw. For what its worth, I offer a few of my observations.
A Cinematic Blessing
Evan Almighty, which premiered last weekend to good but not massive box office, is getting very poor reviews. Those reviewers are dead wrong.
More “Supernatural” Religion
Tonight’s episode of the CW program Supernatural follows up on the religious themes of last week’s installment (see below), with a decidedly more sinister bent. In this episode, Sam Winchester is possessed by a demon—the very one he and his brother have been hunting in hopes of destroying it. The episode includes some interesting and reasonable discussion of moral culpability, as the demon uses Sam’s body to commit some murders which Sam himself, of course, would never do. Although the producers include a bit of mumbo-jumbo in the story, it is clearly for dramatic purposes, and the theology is decidedly Christian. In all, the program seems to be moving toward a more explicitly Christian approach to its subject matter.
Philosophical House
This week’s episode of the Fox TV drama House, M.D., "One Day, One Room," featured some interesting discussion of religion and abortion. Here are a few relevant paragraphs from the episode summary on the Fox House, M.D. site: Cuddy lets House know that Eve is pregnant. He breaks the news to the girl, then offers her the chance to terminate it. Eve isn’t interested because she considers abortion to be murder. House asks her if she wants to take a walk outside to get some air. . . . House and Eve sit in a park watching people jog by. They continue their philosophical discussion. Eve argues that eternity is what we live for, and House believes that our time on Earth is all we have. Eve refuses to believe that because then there are no ultimate consequences. She needs the comfort of knowing that this all means something. Eve wonders if her attacker feels remorse for his actions. House asks why that matters. He then inquires why she trusts him. Eve explains that there’s something about him, as if he is hurt too. House confesses that his story was true. Yet it
Religion in “Bones”
Another in our ongoing chronicle of fictional TV programs’ treatment of religion . . . In last night’s episode of the Fox mystery-criime series Bones, "Aliens in a Spaceship," Jeffersonian Institution scientists and crimefighters Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Hodgins are buried alive by a serial killer—known as the Grave Digger—and held for ransom, which the corporation to which the demand was made is unable to pay. After a timely resurrection, Brennan and her usual partner, FBI agent Booth (David Boreanaz), are in a Catholic church. Booth rises from his knees after prayer and sits beside Brennan in the front pew. They discuss religion, as they frequently do. Brennan takes her usual straight-materialist-atheist position, and Booth speaks from his Catholic point of view. Neither tries to persuade the other to change their mind, though both are firm in their convictions. What is exemplary about the scene is the maturity of their conversation about religion. Brennan sees it all in scientific, materialistic terms, as a matter of probabilities that sometimes come to pass, and Booth sees it in more spiritual terms, seeing God looking down on their team and answering Booth’s prayers so that the team can continue to do their work.
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