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As U.S. Went to Hell, R.E.M. Hung in Without Cynicism

By Brian K. Pennington

…kids’ awakening to the artistry and moral challenge that rock music at its best can deliver, Nirvana will provide the soundtrack to the fading images of one friend after another lost to the heroin that hit the alternative music scene in Atlanta as Nevermind hit the charts. Could anything be further from the nihilism of Nirvana’s distorted and driving chords than R.E.M.’s qualified insistence that the articulation of meaning and the comfort of comm…

Trump In Colorado: When the “Facts” Are No Longer Checkable

By Paul Harvey

…at world. Any such claim is laughably unpersuasive, despite James Dobson’s best efforts. Rather, I mean “faith” not in any specifically theological sense, but more in the sense of the evidence of things not seen. (The “substance of things hoped for” is what Trump alone can provide, judging from his RNC address). Initially, this came in thinking about Trump’s RNC portrayal of an America in grave peril of mass death from drunk drivers who happen to…

What the Hell is Wrong With Us? A Muslim Response to America’s Failure to Change

By Haroon Moghul

…ask the reader of the Qur’an, over and over again, to reflect, to use her best judgment, to make her best effort, and to learn from others? If the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the last Prophet—and Islam certainly insists on as much—then everything he communicated has to be universal enough to be meaningful but flexible enough to reflect the nuances and characteristics of different experiences. This is one thing a lot of people don’t u…

“I’ll Pray For You”—Powerful or Pointless?

By Christine Wicker

…en, who directed Dallas’ Thanksgiving Square, to give me an example of the best prayer. Jesus had already directed Christians on how to pray, of course. Since, no one in Dallas, Texas, was going to challenge that. I was looking for second best. Elizabeth’s answer changed my entire framework for prayer. She said, “The name of God.” “And then?” I asked. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s all that’s needed.” Elizabeth’s answer made no sense to me until…

Missing the Extra Point: The Real Cause of Tebow Fever

By Carter Turner

…k (which nearly all the “experts” claim he’s not), and the Broncos had the best record in football, the interest wouldn’t be at this level either. Kurt Warner was very open about his evangelical Christianity, and was a really good quarterback—even winning the Super Bowl—but his games weren’t breaking viewing records. People are watching The Tebow Show because he’s a second-rate quarterback… and winning games, often against great odds while playing…

“I ‘Came Out’ For Marriage Equality”: An Anti-Gay Activist Changes His Mind

By Welton Gaddy

…going to be your friend based on how you feel on a particular issue. My best friend—he’s a liberal Democrat, and I’m a conservative Republican. And we’re friends, to this day, from high school. Even though we hold completely opposite views on many issues, we’re friends, because we know that our friendship isn’t based upon a mutual understanding or agreement on political issues. And that’s not the way it should be for any friendship. So the peop…

Netflix’s Iranian ‘Messiah’ Is a Gift to Trump and His Evangelical Base

By Tony Keddie

…d-times fantasies have often followed the path paved by Hal Lindsey, whose best-selling The Late Great Planet Earth in 1970 interpreted a pastiche of biblical verses as proof that the end would begin with a Soviet invasion of Israel. He claimed that the ancient prophet Ezekiel’s warning about Israel being invaded by an enemy named Gog from the North must refer to modern Russia. Even more, this northern enemy could not succeed without the help of I…

Open Carry Racism: The Right Wing Fever Dream that Predates Trump

By Jason C. Bivins

…ers of which refuse to do so. Get Out may never have been fated to win the Best Picture Oscar, but it’s still the movie that best answers the question how did we get here? while pointing to the “black mold” in the basement. But what needs to be acknowledged is that while Trump is truly exceptional in his disregard for laws, norms, and institutions, he’s also a recognizable product of a half-century’s con game. Significantly, it was with Ronald Rea…

Eyes on the Prize, Rainbow People! A Post-DOMA Challenge

By Peter Laarman

…not a day to say, as one lesbian interviewed on NPR said, “they saved the best for last.” In fairness, the person interviewed was telling an otherwise compelling story about the need for queer people to make common cause with low-wage workers. She and her spouse are small-time farmers in the Central Valley: in that context they can feel how wrong it would be for them to say “thank you very much” to the Supremes and then proceed to ignore the econ…

Millennials Put Off By Rigid, Judgmental Religion Offered … More Orthodoxy

By Daniel Schultz

…rches that demand orthodoxy—another word for holiness—are the ones that do best. That’s even true! Conservative churches do fare better these days than liberal ones, though the sociologists tell me that’s mostly the result of their later adoption of birth control. The cultural trends are the cultural trends, even if they do take longer to catch up with some groups than others. It makes a certain surface amount of sense, then, that Shrum would argu…