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The Happening and the Gospel of Bruce Springsteen

By Diane Winston

…rt. For the outskirts, for that place away—in this song, “an old abandoned beach house.” Of course, Springsteen isn’t the only musician with Big Things in mind: Miley Cyrus’ godmother also sings about sin and salvation. Backwoods Barbie, Dolly Parton’s new album, is a familiar mix of noble women, cheatin’ men, and a forgiving God. Says reviewer Susan Wunderlink, “Her songs put forward Christian spiritual elements like faith and prayer, but Parton…

For Better or Worse: The Rise of the Professional Wedding Celebrant

By Carlos Wilton

…her mop and bucket and performs ceremonies—mostly weddings—full-time. Her beach weddings are much in demand in this oceanfront community. She does many more weddings than I do, for locals and tourists alike. Some celebrants—like Mr. Kushner, presumably—become credentialed to perform a one-off ceremony for a friend or relative. Those who seek to make a living at it are more likely to get some training, such as the $2,400 “gold standard” webinar se…

Advice from a Disaster Pastor: Open Your Wallet, Not Your Closet

By Carlos Wilton

…that’s needed. Money moves at the speed of electrons: far faster — and far cheaper — than anything that can be loaded onto a semi-trailer. Due to economies of scale — not to mention price breaks wholesalers extend to charities — there’s more bang to every buck contributed directly to a house of worship or relief agency than there is in using the same greenback to buy dog food or diapers. The cost of transportation must always be factored in. Besid…

Huckabee Says Obama is “Pretending to Be a Christian”

By Carlos Wilton

…an submarine. Recalling the Spanish conquistadores’ arrival on a Caribbean beach, that romantic gesture symbolizes Russia’s territorial claim to vast swaths of Arctic seabed. Caught in the spotlight of a deep-sea robotic submersible, the tiny Russian flag looks ridiculous: a childish, king-of-the-hill gesture on the part of Vladimir Putin. But it embodies something far more ominous. So, too, with a remark Presidential candidate Michael Huckabee ma…

Beloved Immortals: Science, Miracles and ‘Jellyfish Time’

By Beatrice Marovich

…e makes me want to visit this guy in his laboratory, take a walk along the beach where he searches for evidence of sea creature activity, watch him sing karaoke at an academic conference. And yet, something about Kubota’s story leaves me unsettled. Call it my inner rationalist or my inner existentialist. Call it what you like, but I’m wary of a scientist who harbors (and who publicly exposes) such passionate feelings about something like immortali…

California Inmates Protest the Abuse of Long-Term Solitary Confinement

By Sarah Sentilles

…olor further calls into question the use of this abusive practice.” As the numbers have grown, so have the numbers of critics, Wired reports, citing a series of “scathing reports and documentaries” released in 2012 by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. That same year, the US Senate held its first-ever hearings on…

Mark Driscoll vs John MacArthur: Battle of the Self-Promoting Calvinists

By Rob Shryock

…him, John MacArthur is an old school fundamentalist whose church draws over 8000 weekly attendees. He also believes all Charismatics are blasphemers, and ultimately hell-bound, which is the premise of his Strange Fire conference, based on his recent book of the same name. MacArthur spent the conference denouncing the prosperity gospel, the social gospel, charismatics…so basically, everyone except him and his ever-shrinking group of friends. Drisco…

Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Heretic: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Jihadis?

By Haroon Moghul

…organization by the United Arab Emirates.” Exactly. 2) “Muslims … use cell phones and computers without necessarily seeing a conflict between their religious faith and the rationalist, secular mindset that made modern technology possible.” Driving on an interstate highway? You can probably thank the Nazis for that. What about nuclear power, radioactive isotopes, etc.? Guess who got us started there. First man in space? Circumnavigation of the glob…

Pamela Geller in Brooklyn: Free Speech, Hate Speech, and the Futility of Arguing with a Bigot

By Haroon Moghul

…encourage hate speech. 6:58 The man in front of me asks, ‘Do you have an iPhone charger?’ ‘For a 5,’ I ask, though so presumptively it does not merit a question mark. ‘Yeah.’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Awesome.’ He’s a nice fellow, though he believes Palestinians would have a different view of Israel if only they ‘visited’ (not seeming to understand that they cannot, and many would not be visiting so much as returning to places they were expelled from). They could…

Critiques, Questions, and Sauve-qui-Peut: Looking Toward the Future of American Christianit(ies)

By Peter Laarman

…nally think this is doubtful, but I could be mistaken. Among the dwindling numbers of those whom we usually regard as religious moderates—the white bread Protestants and suburban Catholics—there is one issue that I believe could become transformational. The climate change crisis is going to shake old ways and old assumptions to the foundations. In California, where I live, I can already see stirrings of radical environmentalism among groups like a…