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Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife

By Lisa Miller

…good and we have things in abundance. Heaven, then, is an extension of the best of this life. When ideas of heaven were first cohering, life for believers was not at all good. The Jews who first conceived of heaven as we know it today were under assault, literally, from their Greek rulers. Christians, at the beginning, were a marginal band, derided by the pagan majority. Islam was established in a uniquely inhospitable part of the world by people…

Bagels Aren’t Enough

By Jay Michaelson

…cal, and more than a little awkward. It’s hard to see Jewish Millenials speaking in tongues. A tongue sandwich, maybe. This leaves those of us invested in a Jewish future contemplating either smaller, boutique forms of Jewish engagement, or perhaps a Judaism that transcends the Jews. Perhaps the best of Jewish spirituality becomes as accessible to non-Jews (i.e. 99.5% of the world population) as the best of Jewish humor. Or perhaps anti-semitism w…

Op-Ed: A Few Things I Wish Barack Obama Had Said

By Garret Keizer

…sumes to question my sincerity and judgment simply because I aspire to the best expression of the best ideas I have. “In the beginning was the word.” That too is found in the Bible, but it is every bit as true of political change as of divine creation. On His Senate Vote to Hold Domestic Spying Blameless Were I asked to provide a single challenge to the notion that ours is a nation rooted in the principles of the so-called Abrahamic faiths, I woul…

Marriage is for Everybody, Says Former Anti-Gay Evangelical

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…t of technical scholarly debates about what they did and did not mean. The best you wind up with is a statement that says, “Well, these passages don’t mean what you think they mean.” It was essentially an argument from silence, which I don’t find compelling. As I was writing this I was trying to keep in mind a couple of families in my congregation. They were just regular folks who had children come to them and they were very upset with this. We ha…

Blank Sabbath: Sens. Sponsor Bill to Curb Wage Theft

By Peter Laarman

…anic model of social organization. Theologian Walter Brueggemann is at his best in describing Pharoah’s Egypt—and contemporary America—as a disordered place of unlimited exploitation and exhaustion. In this context the greatest blessing given at Sinai is the Sabbath principle and all of the related instruction about learning to share abundance. But of course the challenge facing those wandering Israelites—and still facing us—is the powerful appeal…

A Victory for Conservatives in Revised AP History Curriculum

By Peter Laarman

…kewise be quite useful to keep Americans thinking that God still loves us best despite the daily evidence of falling fortunes. I should be clear that I think the admirable aspects of the white American story should certainly be taught. In my youth I taught an AP class in American literature in relation to 19th century American history. Were I teaching that same class today, I would have no difficulty inviting my students to think of the consti…

Jerusalem Honors Right-Wing Mogul Sheldon Adelson

By Diane Winston

…” They ought to be offensive to Israelis as well, but Adelson is doing his best to spread the message through Israel HaYom (Israel Today), a free tabloid that is the country’s must-read news outlet. Adelson told reporters at the Jerusalem gathering that he does not dictate the newspaper’s coverage or editorials, but that both reflect his point of view and that of his close friend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a nation of news junkies, Isr…

Bad Karma: Life Lessons From Earl

By Anthony B. Pinn

…materialism and its awkward and distorting presentation. There is something useful in examining the policies and practices of our nation and demanding that we live the best of our ideals. And, if My Name Is Earl sparks that type of exchange, I won’t complain. My name is Anthony….

Conservative Christians Insist the Toxic Theology Portrayed in the Duggar Family Doc is ‘Fringe’ — But is it Really All That Different?

By Caroline Matas

…governments alike under God’s “jurisdictional authority.” While Gothard is best known for his theology of authority within family structures, it’s this same theology of immediate, joyful obedience and deference to authority figures in the home, church, and government that has spread far beyond card-carrying members of the IBLP. Fringe theology? If Gothard’s theology of authority structures continues to echo through politicians and organizations th…

To Get Through This Time We’ll Have to Shred the ‘Racial Contract’ and Choose Solidarity Over Sacrifice

By Christophe D Ringer

…ers to reopen the economy. Our ugly history of social Darwinism is perhaps best exemplified—or revealed—by the Tennessee protester who famously brandished a sign reading, “Sacrifice the weak, Re-open TN.” The now former chairperson of the planning commission in Antioch, California suggested letting the virus run its course to kill the weak, elderly and homeless in order to relieve health care and Social Security costs. These perspectives are not o…