Michael Gerson on Christmas: Christmas has become a kind of alternative religion, offering watered-down versions of profound theological doctrines. Its miracles are found on 34th Street, not in Bethlehem. The visitation of Gabriel has become the visitation of Clarence, assuring us that it is a wonderful life. The modern cult of Christmas offers a domesticated form of transcendence. Naughty or nice instead of good or evil. A jolly old elf rather than an illegitimate child, destined for an early death… I choose to take a more liberal view of the Christmas cult. Its tacky materialism can be unattractive. But the desire for Christmas miracles and visiting angels – for Tiny…

I want to add a hearty “amen” to Ross Douthat’s column in today’s New York Times. He writes: “Christmas is hard for everyone. But it’s particularly hard for people who actually believe in it. “In a sense, of course, there’s no better time to be a Christian than the first 25 days of December. But this is also the season when American Christians can feel most embattled. Their piety is overshadowed by materialist ticky-tack. Their great feast is compromised by Christmukkwanzaa multiculturalism. And the once-a-year churchgoers crowding the pews beside them are a reminder of how many Americans regard religion as just another form of midwinter entertainment, wedged in between…

On Tuesday, I noted that Apple removed the Manhattan Declaration app from the iTunes Store after complaints from gay activists. Yesterday, Apple explained that they removed the app because it was “offensive to large groups of people.” Chuck Colson, Robert George and Timothy George have been trying to reach Steve Jobs to request him to reverse this decision, but so far haven’t been able to contact him. So they have started an online petition that you can sign if you would like to see the app restored.

Well this is really annoying. Apple has removed the Manhattan Declaration app from iTunes App Store in response to claims that the app was anti-gay. I’m not kidding. Read about it here (HT: James Kushiner). Chuck Colson, Robert George and Timothy George have written a letter to Steve Jobs about the removal of the MD app from the iTunes store. They promise to write an update when they receive a response. Here’s the statement that they released to supporters of the Declaration.

Last month, I posted a brief note about an article by Albert Mohler arguing that the practice of Yoga is incompatible with the Christian faith. The Associated Press covered Mohler’s article and subsequently set-off a tempest of controversy with Yoga practitioners across the country. Many Christian Yoga devotees objected to Mohler’s piece and contended that their practice of Yoga had no religious dimension to it at all. For them, Yoga offered no contradiction at all to their Christian convictions. Mohler’s response to that argument was simple. If there’s no religious dimension to your Yoga, then it’s not Yoga. It’s just stretching. According to today’s New York Times, a group of…

Princeton University recently hosted a conference on abortion titled “Open Hearts, Open Minds and Fair Minded Words.” The conference title was inspired by President Obama’s 2009 Notre Dame address in which he called on different sides of the abortion debate not only to work together where we agree, but also to engage in “vigorous debate” with “open hearts, open minds, and fair minded words.” Peter Singer was one of the organizers of the event, and David Gushee was invited to represent the pro-life view. A full list of speakers and sponsors are available here.

In the video linked at right, Sarah Posner of Religion Dispatches and Robert Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute discuss changing public opinion on gay rights. Several things are interesting here. 1. Assumption – There is an underlying assumption that skews this conversation. Posner and Jones virtually equate “gay rights” with the right to “homosexual marriage.” The assumption seems to be that support for gay marriage indicates support for the basic human rights of homosexual persons and that opposition to gay marriage indicates opposition to the basic human rights of homosexual persons. I think, however, that this equation is a mistake.