How to speak of God? Toward a postsecular apologetics

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Practical Theology on 11/04/2018, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1756073X.2018.1460522Against most expectations religion has not vanished from Western culture. If anything, it exercises a greater fascination than ever before. Broadly, we might think of ourselves as occupying a new, 'postsecular' space between a renewed visibility of religion in public life, and a corresponding acknowledgement of the importance of religious values and actors; and persistent and widespread disillusion and scepticism towards religion, and objections to religion as a source of legitimate public discourse. In a world that is more sensitive than ever to religious belief and practice, yet often struggles to accommodate it into secular discourse, how do religious institutions justify their position in a contested and volatile public square? This article argues that the contemporary postsecular context requires a recovery of the ancient practices of Christian apologetics as a form of public, theological witness to the practical value of faith, articulated in both deed and word

Turning against the CIA : whistleblowers during the ‘time of troubles’

Edward Snowden is not the first – nor will he be the last – disgruntled US intelligence officer to spill the beans. Using newly declassified materials, private papers and interviews, this article explores how the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) dealt with whistleblowers and disillusioned staff in the 1970s, a period often described as the Agency's ‘Time of Troubles’. It will be argued that ugly revelations by former employees caused more distress to the CIA than disclosures that emerged in the press and on Capitol Hill. At Langley, there was genuine shock that supposedly trusted insiders would write tell-it-all books and betray the Agency's code of ‘never celebrate successes, never explain failures’. Focusing on the CIA's attempts to manage three intelligence apostates – Victor Marchetti, Phillip Agee and Frank Snepp – it will be shown that the Agency invariably made a rod for its own back. As well as ham-fisted efforts to spy on them and steal manuscripts, the CIA constitutionally frogmarched certain whistleblowers off to court, provoking widespread criticism that it was an enemy of free speech. By looking at how the CIA responded to the challenge of leaks in the 1970s, this article places into long-term perspective the contemporary struggle between intelligence agencies and rebellious insiders who use electronic media to promote transparency

Brasileiros na Guerra Civil Espanhola: combatentes na luta contra o fascismo

Este artigo analisa a participação de brasileiros, majoritariamente pertencentes ao Partido Comunista, na guerra civil espanhola e o contexto político-diplomático do conflito espanhol. Baseado em pesquisa original feita em fontes primárias, sobretudo em entrevistas e questionários com ex-combatentes e seus familiares, e em consulta às fontes secundárias disponíveis sobre o assunto, o trabalho constitui um dos primeiros levantamentos sobre o envolvimento de combatentes voluntários brasileiros nos episódios militares daquela guerra civil, com destaque para sua participação nas Brigadas Internacionais