ReligionDispatches - Louis A. Ruprecht

Just War Tradition v. David Brooks on 9/11 Trials

Louis A. Ruprecht — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:48:01 PST

With the 5 Gitmo detainees believed to be behind the 9/11 attacks being tried in Manhattan, conservatives push for the label of "war" over "crime." Just War tradition doesn't agree.

Is Karen Armstrong Right? Was Religion Always About Belief or Not?

Louis A. Ruprecht — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:45:01 PST

A commenter from a recent review of Karen Armstrong’s new book writes that a central claim of hers is “utterly false.” Our blogger examines that claim.

When Freedom Hurts

Louis A. Ruprecht — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:33:01 PST

Some protesters are calling for the firing of tenured Berkeley Law Professor John Yoo. Is that the right thing to do?

Why Obama for the Nobel? A Nudge? A Reminder?

Louis A. Ruprecht — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:12:01 PDT

You can either trust Rush Limbaugh or look at past awards for clues.

Obama in Copenhagen: It’s the Religion, Stupid

Louis A. Ruprecht — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:39:01 PDT

The Olympics don’t always leave their host cities better off than before. So why does Chicago want the games?

Vietnam, the Analogy

Louis A. Ruprecht — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:47:01 PDT

The fact is that we are already committed to war in Afghanistan; we are already in. And while many of us may want to get out, the question is how?

Giving RD The Finger?

Louis A. Ruprecht — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:06:01 PDT

In a recent Christian Century feature presenting the reading habits of some “expert observers of the religion scene,” one expert added a curious disclaimer to his mention of RD.

Sandlot Slugging: Of Religion and Science

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:40:01 PDT

Into the often childish and bloody conflict between religion and science comes a humble suggestion: “Art is the New Religion.”

When Corporations are “Persons” Under the Law: The Real Problem With Health Care

Louis A. Ruprecht — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:59:01 PDT

We have become used to the protections intended for real people being extended instead to corporations. How this happened, and what it means for the possibility of health care reform.

Here’s Hoping Obama Will Explain The Whole Co-op Concept Today

Louis A. Ruprecht — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:04:01 PDT

It’s a term that’s been linked to socialized medicine, and government control of health care...but what does “co-op” really mean?

Murdering Sleep: Madoff and MacBeth

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:23:01 PDT

Ruth Madoff, the disgraced financier's wife, loved the theater, and a particularly lavish version of the American Dream. But her sleep, and ours, is not so easy now.

Fearmongering? Yes, But the Fear is Here

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:03:01 PDT

The debate about health has turned into a debate about death. Why has our heath care debate shifted so easily and so quickly into a fright-fest concerned with the care we owe to the dead and dying?

The Legacy of Bush, Gambler of Other People’s Fortunes, Is Still With Us

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:44:01 PDT

A look at Bush’s gambling habit is instructive as Obama works to fix the problems of his predecessor with a team cut from the Bush administration cloth.

Blue Jean Revolution

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:24:01 PDT

What do blue jeans have to do with the contradictions and complexities of Utopia and revolution?

Stonewall, 40 Years Later, What Has Been Achieved?

Louis A. Ruprecht — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:31:01 PDT

Over the past few decades a form of “tolerance” has been achieved in many parts of American life. What sort of achievement is this?

Madoff, Through a Glass, Darkly

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:22:01 PDT

Kathryn Lofton's recent feature asked: How should one look at the old wedding photos after utter collapse? So what about Madoff? How should one see these pictures from a prison cell?

The Banality of Bernie

Louis A. Ruprecht — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:16:01 PDT

Maybe it's too much to compare Bernie Madoff to Hitler—but there are some peculiar parallels.

A Reply to Pastor Rod Parsley on the Bible and the Death Penalty

Louis A. Ruprecht — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:04:01 PDT

Megachurch pastor Rod Parsley took issue with a recent article on RD on biblical and ethical challenges to the death penalty. Its author responds...

A Pale Glimpse of Moon

Louis A. Ruprecht — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:24:01 PDT

Highlights of a literary night in Rome: “You know what will happen,” she exclaims. “They’ll burn the books… before the furniture… before the clothes… they’ll burn all the books… They always do.”

Modern Media and the “Exhibition Value” of the Corpse

Louis A. Ruprecht — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:04:01 PDT

Walter Benjamin, Susan Sontag, Hamlet, Abu Ghraib, and why the Eucharist involves the live audience in a way that Mel Gibson’s The Passion never could.

Hamlet's Wager, or, The Ghost of Capitalism

Louis A. Ruprecht — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:17:01 PDT

Specters abound in the contemporary world, and they are every bit as terrifying as Hamlet's were. Think of the invisible, ghostly threat of "terror"; think of the terrifying specter of one's life's savings vanished in an instant.

The Specter on the Left

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:52:01 PDT

Arlen Specter is hardly the first Republican moderate to leave his party after the bullying conducted in the name of policy and GOP purity.

Sex Buys the Pulitzer Prize

Louis A. Ruprecht — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:31:01 PDT

Why is the highest journalistic award handing out prizes for reporting on the sexual dalliances of powerful pols? And we wonder why papers are closing their doors?

Newt's Obama-Bashing Trinity

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:21:01 PDT

It's difficult to believe that Newt's role as critic of Obama's foreign policy has as much to do with patriotism as with raw political ambition.

Wall St., Main St., Religion, and the Bailout

Louis A. Ruprecht — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:00:01 PDT

Obama ran on a platform of change, but he’s been unwilling to mess with the status quo on either war or the economy. As the crisis deepens, the language of psychology trumps the language of faith, even on Main Street.