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‘Late Night With The Devil’ Reflects the Role of Talk Shows in Sensationalizing the Satanic Panic of the 1980s

By Joseph Laycock

…n Palm Beach, Florida willing to let camera crews film an exorcism of their 16-year-old daughter, Gina. On April 5, 1991, audiences saw a priest cast various spirits out of Gina, set to Carmina Burana’s “O Fortuna.” Producer Rob Wallace remarked on this event, “I came away believing that possession was possible, and that it can happen, and, in fact, we may have witnessed possession and the exorcism of demons.” The 20/20 episode was followed by Nig…

Even Amid Controversy, ‘My Soul Still Sings,’ Says UMC’s First Lesbian Bishop

By Sunnivie Brydum

…plained. “We’re at a moment in time where we can follow the leading of the spirit. … The Holy Spirit always enlarges our vision. It never narrows it. It never says some people are in and some people are out. It always says, ‘No, in fact the circle needs to be wider.’” The alternative begets a dark future, the bishop warns: “If the church of Jesus Christ, the body of Christ, can’t show that difference is not a bad thing, and it’s a sign of God’s di…

The Sacred and the Dead: ‘Friend of the Devil’ is a Love Song

By Pitman B. Potter

…e half-century they’ve been playing together can be seen to exemplify this spirit of love for one another in community. “Friend of the Devil,” co-written by Jerry Garcia and the band’s longtime lyricist (and official fifth member) Robert Hunter, is a good example. We are invited to empathize with the outlaw who is running from the sheriff and established society: “Got two reasons why I cry away this lonely night. The first one’s named sweet Anne M…

Does the Multifaith Model Work?

By Jas Chana

…f Biblical Hebrew. Yael is the co-founder and director of NYU’s Center for Spiritual Life and runs the Center with the same spiritual inclusiveness she personally espouses. In a recent article for Inquiring Mind, Shy elaborates on her dual Jewish-Buddhist practice. “I often ask myself, ‘Is it possible to engage in a non-superficial way, in two rich spiritual traditions?’ So, far the answer is a resounding yes!” Yael sees a kind of universality in…

When Religion Kills: The Narco-Traffickers of the Borderlands

By Luis Leon

…w others get close to God.” Credo sixteen extols the virtue of patriotism. Number nineteen advises humility and nobility, while twenty-two announces that no woman should fear a Knight, but, rather, should feel protected by him. Twenty-nine reiterates that every Knight should be “firmly and truthfully in the just cause of God.” Numbers thirty-four through thirty-eight prohibit drugs, kidnapping, and mandate drug testing. Forty-three requires member…

Anti-Gay Evangelicalism is the Norm: A Less Rosy Take on the Evangelical “Tipping Point”

By Chrissy Stroop

…are living up to Christ’s example of radical inclusivity that I see as the spirit of the Gospel. The problem is that an awful lot of Christians, particularly in evangelical culture, continue to fetishize the letter and lose sight of the spirit. And not only that, but instead of accepting that we live in a pluralist society, too many of these evangelicals, with a huge assist from conservative Catholics, go off in the name of “religious freedom” to…

My Kind of Atheist

By Peter Laarman

…s own contributions to the formation of “movement” Christianity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Then he dropped out, turned his back on that kind of power and glory. He produced low-budget movies for a time, wrote some decent autobiographical fiction, and finally returned to writing about the thing he knows best: the damage wrought by hard, doctrinal religion. One senses from this book that Schaeffer is at last free of the need to strap on his…

Liberation Theology is Alive and Well

By Mary E. Hunt

…Senator Maria Silva, a collaborator with the late Chico Mendes (murdered in 1988 by ranchers who opposed his efforts to organize rubber tappers), spoke convincingly of the need for sustainable development and the protection of a biodiverse Amazon. She was the first rubber tapper elected to the Brazilian senate, and served as Minister for the Environment from 2003-2008. Hearing her touch on liberation theology provided a ray of hope that what we ar…

Resisting the “New Normal” of Parasitic Capitalism in the Two Americas: The Religious Imperative

By Peter Laarman

…this prophetic mold. Let me end this by saying that I am not holding my breath. I do not expect a radical religious voice to suddenly emerge in this way. The signs of near-complete religious domestication are everywhere. Yet I also believe that the Holy Spirit can descend at even the most unexpected times. And if even a small fraction of US religious leaders were to catch this particular spirit, I have no doubt that all kinds of holy hell would b…

What Did the Puritans Have Against Christmas?

By Bruce David Forbes

…o religion and says nothing about a baby in a manger—but it does promote a spirit of giving and care for others that can be embraced by almost anyone. The point here is that the Puritan suppression of Christmas created a vacuum, and when Christmas re-emerged and flourished in the 1800s its new form had less of a religious emphasis and was centered more on family and generosity. Christians could embrace those themes gladly, as very consistent with…