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Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife

By Lisa Miller

…level is focused on one thing, God, and is thus perfectly content with her hierarchical place. Even if the ancients understood that they would see their relatives in heaven, they had no idea of hanging out with them, or doing any of the things that Susie Salmon does in the novel The Lovely Bones. There was no idea of chatting, eating ice cream, playing sports. There is a movement among conservative believers in every tradition to reemphasize this…

Top Five (Less Sensational, But More Dangerous) Things to Remember About Pat Robertson (1930-2023)

By Mark Hulsether

…spread disgust with Robertson’s brand of Christianity. Overall, though, I think this piece holds up quite well—especially in its stress on Robertson’s role in building the Fox News empire and Republican base. Above all, now that we’ve lived through the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, it’s fascinating to revisit my 12-year-old warning about how Robertson shaped his listeners’ imaginations and expectations to make such a thing more likel…

Haiti and the Push for Theological Questions

By Paula M. Cooey

…benevolent or good, given the same circumstances? Candide challenged all philosophical attempts at theodicy as feeble and idiotic. In the end, Candide, after much suffering himself and bereft of God, retires to cultivate his own garden. This “final resolution” leaves important issues unaddressed, a point to which I shall shortly return; needless to say, this non-theistic or atheistic view, however well known it may be, is not shared by most Ameri…

Aasif Mandvi on Islamophobia, Acting, and the Long Shadow of Jon Stewart

By Haroon Moghul

…ouldn’t be a more topical interview. Aasif Mandvi might be most famous for his hilarious commentary on The Daily Show, but he’s also a very well-regarded actor, creator, artist, and writer. At a time when we’re not having a debate about Islam and extremism so much as we’re slinging talking points past each other, Aasif Mandvi took time out of a very busy schedule to talk about Halal in the Family and much more. Namely: He teases us with glimpses i…

Another Manufactured Outrage: Rep. Ilhan Omar Did Nothing Wrong in Listing Hamas, Israel, and U.S. Together

By Joshua Shanes

…three thoughts about this alleged controversy that might be helpful, the third of which is the most important. First, she did not literally equate these actors. That is simply false. Should she have added, as she did in her follow up clarification, some sense of differentiation? Should she have clarified that she was not making “a moral comparison between Hamas, the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel,” that she was “in no way equating terrorist orga…

The 17th Century Roots of Roy Moore’s Refusal to Concede the Election

By Karen E. Park

…that, if you will. Moore is “waiting on God” to deliver the Senate seat to him despite his clear loss because he does not believe in the democratic process. He hates democracy as much as the Puritan John Winthrop, first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony did. Winthrop knew that the Puritans were the new Israel, chosen by God for a special “errand.” His famous “City upon a Hill” language, itself taken from the Gospel of Matthew 5:14, and late…

Diplomatic Suckerhood: Why Israel Is Fighting Toward its Own Demise

By Ira Chernus

…ds. But Israel can use force only when given permission by the goyim in Washington; which seems to prove that the Jews are still powerless. If the goyim say “no,” they can be dismissed as Jew-haters (or, if they happen to be Jewish, as “self-hating Jews,” which is just how Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described Obama confidantes David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel. But that merely reinforces the sense that Jews are surrounded by enemie…

Modern Vampires: Your Neighbors and Spouses

By Joseph Laycock

…d had announced that he was a vampire, and the mother wanted to know what this meant. This book is not intended as an apology for the vampire community, but I think it may help non-vampires to put the phenomenon in perspective. One of the challenges of a democratic society is the accommodation of diverse identity groups. Are you hoping to just inform readers? Give them pleasure? Piss them off? The “basic facts” about the vampire community are read…

An Unholy Holy Week: Is the All-Male Rule of the Roman Catholic Church Self-Destructing?

By Anne Eggebroten

…l role in the Roman Catholic Church is being shortened by the mistakes of this male hierarchy. In fact, the once-omnipotent structure is imploding. Like Dorothy finally face to face with the Wizard of Oz, we have looked behind the pomp and procession to find a few confused and pitifully human old men at microphones still trying to send out impressive puffs of smoke. Within 20-40 years, we will have women priests ordained with the blessing of canon…

‘Pro-Life’ Theater, Open White Nationalism, and Virility Fear — Day 3 of NatCon

By Annika Brockschmidt and Ben Lorber

…that there wasn’t anything new in his speech. And it worked—he got the second standing ovation of the day, after Azzerad. ‘Blood and Bones’ Vance ended not with blood and soil, but a version of it—“blood and bones”—claiming that he wants to ensure that his children will be buried in the cemetery in Kentucky, near the land owned by his ancestors. It was a deeply strange sentiment for a political speech—let alone for a closing—but it was a fitting…