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“Saints Are Only Human”: Leaving the Church, But Heeding this Pope’s Lessons

By Elizabeth Colmant Estes

…slogans about immigration reform. On line I heard that parishes with large numbers of undocumented immigrants had received many tickets. No outside food or water, statues, gifts or selfie sticks were permitted. Despite 10,000 folding chairs, most of us would have no choice but to stand. Once in my appointed place behind the last row of seats, I found myself in a community of fellow pilgrims, lottery winners from local parishes, nearby colleges, an…

We Went Through Amoris Laetitia Section by Section So You Wouldn’t Have To

By Anthony Adams

…ualism is bad. Also, he notes but offers no explanation for the decreasing number of marriages in many countries. I am glad to see that in Section 34 he understands this basic fact of contemporary western culture: The ideal of marriage, marked by a commitment to exclusivity and stability, is swept aside whenever it proves inconvenient or tiresome. The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fe…

Christian Terrorism Comes to Milwaukee

By Mark Juergensmeyer

…like Page. Some of the best known jihadi terrorists were part of the 1980s Afghan struggle of the Muslim mujahidin against the Soviet occupation. Osama bin Laden went to the battlefield to establish a guest house for foreign Muslim fighters drawn to the region. He called the hostel al Qaeda, “the base.” Among the foreign fighters drawn to the Afghan conflict was an Egyptian, Mahmud Abouhalima, who later lived in the United States, where he became…

Feared Taliban Leader Killed, But Military Strategy is Not the Answer in Afghanistan

By Mark Juergensmeyer

…ry movements that it is trying to destroy. Like the North Vietnamese, many Afghan activists—and an increasing number of Pakistanis—are motivated to fight against the American presence because of their love of freedom. They see the US military, like the Soviet forces before them, as a foreign occupying power. The Taliban, as draconian as they may be, are seen as enemies of the enemy: us. It is the US military presence, paradoxically, that is unitin…

Humanitarian Victims or Christian Martyrs: What’s in a Word?

By Donald Heinz

…y be called to do the dying for a cause, but never the killing. Surely the Afghan Christian martyrs can and should recognized in public discourse for what they were and are, and not just in the segregated space of a Christian funeral where no one will be disturbed by the assertion. But wait! We now know what kind of funeral was held for these martyrs before they were buried in the Anglican Christian cemetery in Afghanistan. It was “mostly non-reli…

Will bin Laden’s Killing End the Jihadi Trend?

By Christopher Anzalone

…s affected by bin Laden’s death. In recent years, al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan has become increasingly reliant on the military strength of regional allies such as the Afghan Taliban, the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Each of these allies has an independent organizational structure and operates independently, though sometimes in alliance with, al Qaeda. The Afghan Taliban and the TTP also have a range of…

The ‘Fake Christian’ Deflection and Contrarian Concern Trolling: How Not to Write about Evangelical Authoritarianism

By Chrissy Stroop

…t is my strong conviction that, after twenty years of failure to stabilize Afghanistan in the aftermath of the US invasion, our country owes assistance and asylum to Afghans who fear for their future. I derive that conclusion from a secular approach to ethics. No, I bring this up to highlight precisely that the Bible is not straightforward, that communally mediated interpretation is what shapes the political theology of particular Christian groups…

Obsession with Attackers’ Backgrounds Misses the Point of Terrorism

By Ali Olomi

…reformist Salafi-Wahhabism as well as Shia Khomeneism. In 1979 the Soviet-Afghan War and the Islamic Revolution of Iran became the international stage that put theory into practice. Though colonialism and global intervention has certainly transformed and modernized the concept of jihad, it is hardly synonymous with terrorism. In fact, many groups who espouse jihad do not engage in terrorism at all. The jihadist practice of terrorism is a minority…

American Indians Irate over Bin Laden Code Name “Geronimo”

By Johnny P. Flynn

…hundred members of al Qaeda said to be fighting from the mountains of the Afghan/Pakistan border. It’s safe to say the United States military hasn’t learned much over the generations about how to fight a war against a well-entrenched band of locals who know the country, and the conflation of Geronimo with bin Laden once again illustrates the failure of the United States to consider its own history in fighting insurgent wars. So what’s the lesson…

Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

By Michael Schulson

…age. His 2012 book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar, has sold widely. Over the phone, I asked Rinzler why he and Burrows had chosen to establish the studio as a for-profit company. “We really wanted to make sure we had all the resources we need for supporting people who are trying meditation for the first time,” Rinzler explained. Because they’re a business, there’s more professionalism. The teachers they’ve hired show up on time, and, as Rinzler put…