Search for "Spirit Airlines 800-299-7264 Reservations Cheap Plane Tickets "

The Women’s March, Anti-Semitism, and ‘The Jewish Farrakhan’

By Shaul Magid

…or Ludwig Philippson, argued for “an essence” of antisemitism, “a timeless spirit possessing an essence that was a permanent feature of human social behavior, imply[ing] that the spirit could exist independently of what any particular ‘antisemite’ said or did.” With such an assessment, a sharp definition of the term becomes unnecessary. If we assume that antisemitism is “timeless” and “permanent,” it becomes simply whatever one says it is, because…

The Church of Man-Love: How I Lost One Leper Messiah, and Gained Another, Part 7

By Mark Dery

…charismatics fervently desire the “indwelling” or “infilling” of the Holy Spirit, so that they may live “spirit-filled” lives, guided by God’s will (entheos); in the same way, perversely, that the deranged Beatles fan Mark David Chapman was convinced that killing John Lennon would transform him into a household deity like his idol, a “guardian angel” maybe, or even a “quasi-savior.”4 A fan is a consumer whose all-consuming idolatry is just the we…

My Kind of Atheist

By Peter Laarman

…n status, stuff, education, and money.” And still again, “If there were no spiritual side to us, there would be no sense of loss when the material universe intrudes on our happiness.” Although this book is very much about Schaeffer’s own journey to freedom, there’s enough of the good theologian and good biblical scholar in him to delight those of us who can never get enough of that kind of thing. He does a lot with the figure of Jesus as the only…

Capitalism and the Anti-Modern Pope

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…sive spirit of the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s, and its new “spirit of openness to the modern world.” But what these men understand as “Modern” is not entirely clear. Perhaps a better way to say this is that the target keeps shifting in papal polemics about Modernity. Whereas Modernism was associated with the natural sciences and Liberal theology in the early 20th century, the twinned ideologies of feminism and secularism came under…

Vaccine Mandates are Constitutional; Religious Exemptions are Unnecessary and Harmful

By Andrew L. Seidel

The Spirit of 1776 was as much about science as it was about freedom. George Washington required the entire Continental Army to get inoculated against smallpox—the first army-wide vaccination in history. Mortality dropped from 30% to 1%. Mandatory vaccinations just might have won America its freedom. From that auspicious beginning, Americans have let vaccine science protect our soldiers in the military, our students in school, our healthcare work…

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…

Evangelical Groundhog Day: The ‘Times’ Identifies the ‘Religious Fervor in the American Right’ — Around Four Decades Late

By Diana Butler Bass

…ooted in the charismatic tradition, which emphasizes the power of the Holy Spirit—into the right-wing movement is changing the atmosphere of events and rallies, many of which feature Christian symbols and rituals, especially praise music. With spiritual mission driving political ideals, the stakes of any conflict, whether over masks or school curriculums, can feel that much larger, and compromise can be even more difficult to achieve. Political am…

The SBC Sexual Abuse Scandal is a ‘Success’ Story of the Theological Vision and Social Structure of the ‘Conservative Resurgence’

By Diana Butler Bass

…rd of God for women to use: yet all under the colour, that they all as the Spirit moves them; wherein they highly wrong and abuse the motions of the blessed Spirit, to make him to be the author of so much schism, disorder, and confusion; they being rather led by the strong delusions of the prince of darkness, to countenance their ignorance, pride, and vain-glory. Radical women meant disordered society; only a chaotic society would permit such ungo…

Omar Ahmad: Muslim, American, Cowboy Boot Aficionado (1965–2011)

By Wajahat Ali

…dialog that we will get to know each other!” He leveraged his good-natured spirit in politics, and was elected to the city council of San Carlos, and from there, to the mayor’s office. In that position, he did what every American mayor does, he fought with the Firemen’s Union. In all his activities, he remained committed to his faith. He helped nurture and train Muslim-American leadership. He was a behind-the-scenes mover, who used his vast entrep…

Tokyo Governor Says Tsunami is Divine Punishment—Religious Groups Ignore Him

By Levi McLaughlin

…inable future, victims in northeastern Japan seem to only be embodying the spirit of gaman, or “sticktoitiveness” that exemplifies the Japanese character. It’s difficult to view Ishihara’s comments as anything other than an ideological rant, and one that may come back to haunt him in the next election. And while it appears as if Japan, like America, has its share of vocal public figures eager to equate disaster with apocalypse and to use mass huma…