Search for "what the best site for cheap airline tickets phone number 1-800-299-7264"

The Accidental Worshiper: Following the Music

By Tripp Hudgins

…incerity of purpose that cannot be ignored. I would argue that some of the best theology right now is being done by ethnomusicologists. Haynes’ feminist critique of Mars Hill is absolutely inspired and inspiring. Navigating the fine line reflects a certain theological or ethical stance as well. It’s an ambiguous set of practices. One does not simply borrow. One reflects one’s theological or ethical convictions in the process. In Secular Music and…

You’re Right, Ross Douthat: Donald Trump Is Kind of Like Islam

By Haroon Moghul

…outhat is reminded of Islam? Strange, yes. I could use stronger words. The best historical analogy Douthat can find to the factionalism rending apart an American political party is a conflict between two great Middle Eastern superpowers, divided by religion, each intent on physically eliminating the other? But it’s not a bad analogy, you see. It’s a Freudian slip of an analogy, revealing what Douthat is really thinking—and offering a surprising in…

Studying Religion is Suddenly Popular

By Mark Hulsether

…dy of religion be pleased if they follow Newsweek’s link, “Related: The 25 Best Schools for Do-Gooders”? Apparently the winners were not measured by actual curricula in social ethics, community development, public health, human rights law, and so on—much less interdisciplinary study of how religions relate to sociopolitical issues. “Do-gooderism” is simply a composite score of ROTC enrollments, Peace Corps volunteers, and service-learning initiati…

TLC Premieres Polygamy Reality Show Sister Wives

By Joanna Brooks

…The show opens with shots of goatee-sporting blonde Kody Brown wearing his best pin-striped suit and sitting at the wheel of his white Lexus convertible, then cuts to shots of Kody Brown bopping around under a big white tent at a wedding reception, encircled by a passel of blonde wives and blonde kids, as Brown’s voice-over intones: “My name is Kody Brown, and you’ve gotta meet my family. I like marriage. . . . And I’m a repeat offender.” What fol…

To the One-Percenters, With Love

By Garret Keizer

…o regroup the protesters who’ve been scattered by the police. Is money the best thing you have to leave your grandchildren? Is a killing in the market your best incentive for not killing yourself? Yes, some of your colleagues would laugh at you if you went out to protest. Marie Antoinette laughed too, until she found herself smiling up from the bottom of a wicker basket. The image will seem over-the-top only to the slow learners. I mean tho…

Why We Need a Public Black Theology for the 21st Century

By Vincent Lloyd

…has been the nearest that we have had in recent years, though he is at his best as a charismatic orator rather than as a public intellectual in the ordinary sense. In print, West’s Christianity can seem superficial, but performed to an audience, West displays a powerful charisma. At his best, West avoids giving white audiences what they want; he takes risks and makes sacrifices because of his convictions; and he welds ideology critique alongside s…

How New Religions Are Made

By Jacob S. Dorman

…ral European occult practices, and freemasonry. Although Matthew tried his best to hide this religious bricolage, his papers offer a rare opportunity to see how new religions are made. Is there anything you had to leave out? Tons. I came to see Black Israelites as being very closely related to Black Muslims. Not only was there overlap between the groups’ memberships, but it was not uncommon for groups to blend elements of both Judaism and Islam in…

COVID-Denying Father Sergei is Just the Latest Example of the Russian Orthodox Church’s ‘Holy Man’ Problem

By Katherine Kelaidis

…d physically escaped, but he was still captive emotionally. He set up a website in which he decried Elder Ephraim as an abusive cult leader. He also grew obsessed about possessions that he’d left behind, including a retainer, and in June of 2012 he bought two guns and drove back to Arizona. To St. Anthony’s. He entered the monastery grounds and was approached by the monk working security that night. When approached, he panicked and drove away. The…

Did Pope Francis Just End the Religion and Science Conflict?

By Donovan Schaefer

…focus on their common problems. Winning theological fights may not be the best use of time and resources when the health of the planet is on the line. This shift may never happen. The shadow of the ongoing debates about Darwinism—especially among American Protestants—may be too long and too dark to challenge popular acceptance of the Conflict Thesis anytime soon. It would also require an enhanced commitment on the part of the Catholic Church itse…

Country Music Minus the Culture Wars: A Lesson from a Legend

By Paul Harvey

…and established emissary posts there). Historically, Southern music at its best—the bluesmen, the Carter family, Charlie Poole, and the corpus of the old, weird America—simply could not be tied down to any particular political message or program. This music was about a world beyond one’s control. Its occasional bromides or homilies were not nearly as convincing as its unforgettable portrayals of the darker difficulties of survival in a harsh and u…