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Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife

By Lisa Miller

…on of houris, dark-eyed women. We all know that Mohammad Atta, who flew American Airlines flight 11 into the Twin Towers on 9/11, was inspired by this promise. But among progressives, the sex promised to the righteous in the Qur’an isn’t sex as we know it, but something mysterious and sublime for which sex is a poetic stand-in. Second, what happens to our bodies in heaven? This is my favorite part of the heaven conversation. For if you believe in…

Top Five (Less Sensational, But More Dangerous) Things to Remember About Pat Robertson (1930-2023)

By Mark Hulsether

…Robertson plays his part in the Iran-Contra scandal. During the Central American civil wars of the 1980s, Robertson helped fund “cities of refuge” in Guatemala (what were called “strategic hamlets” in Vietnam), and camps for Nicaraguan Contras. Today, in the aftermath of wars started by Bush and Cheney (also supported by Robertson), these might seem trivial in scale. Nevertheless in the 1980s allies of Reagan, funded illegally through the Iran-Con…

Haiti and the Push for Theological Questions

By Paula M. Cooey

…or atheistic view, however well known it may be, is not shared by most Americans. “Repent, the end of the world is at hand.” Less known are the clerical responses of the time, which were numerous. Charles and John Wesley (the latter considered the founder of the Methodist movement) preached many sermons on the earthquake. According to Methodist minister Ann Bracket, the Wesley brothers saw the Lisbon earthquake in terms of the biblically-preordai…

Aasif Mandvi on Islamophobia, Acting, and the Long Shadow of Jon Stewart

By Haroon Moghul

…out? Anything to make a social impact?” I had been on the Daily Show for a number of years at this point, and spoken to a lot of Islamophobes, people who had a lot of misinformation about Islam and Muslims. It was a personal thing to me, and it was an issue I thought I could lend my voice to in a satirical space. Were there any particular misconceptions or fears you wanted to address? There was a lot of stuff about Shari’ah Law, the protests again…

Another Manufactured Outrage: Rep. Ilhan Omar Did Nothing Wrong in Listing Hamas, Israel, and U.S. Together

By Joshua Shanes

…o. I saw many people laugh at Hamas’s complaint about being compared to America, and while America is a democracy and Hamas is a terrorist organization, Americans might consider our own history. The shock of Trump praising Putin in 2017 and defending himself saying “You think [America] is so innocent” was offensive because of his celebration of authoritarian terror, not because he was wrong about America having done terrible things. As Rabbi Jill…

The 17th Century Roots of Roy Moore’s Refusal to Concede the Election

By Karen E. Park

…ment. Like Winthrop, Moore believes that the Old Testament should order American society, whether Exodus or Leviticus. The ancient Israelites in these societies either adhered, or they didn’t, to God’s covenant with him. The Chosen people did not live in democratic societies—the meanest and worst form of government—and neither should we. In his Biblical non-concession speech on Tuesday, Moore confirmed what has been known about him all along. He a…

Diplomatic Suckerhood: Why Israel Is Fighting Toward its Own Demise

By Ira Chernus

…n display. But all that expenditure of effort and money—much of it from American tax dollars, but a considerable amount from Israelis’ taxes—has apparently not purchased feelings of powerfulness, confidence, and pride. On the contrary, Israeli political life seems dominated by anxiety. So, for example, the fear of an Iranian nuclear bomb (even just one, against Israel’s two hundred or more) makes headlines in Israel nearly every day, like this one…

The Sacred and the Dead: Truckin’ as a New American Pilgrimage

By Varun Soni

…rateful Dead 50 years ago, especially in terms of the dramatic rise of the number of Americans who are no longer affiliated with traditional religious institutions or denominations. In the absence of traditional religious affiliation, people are increasingly turning to popular culture to explore and interrogate the ultimate questions of meaning and purpose in their lives. That is why in the United States, there is now a Church of Elvis Presley and…

Sex and the Chosen People: Be Fruitful and Multiply, Etc.

By Mandy Van Deven

…opefully rabbis can be part of that discussion. Do you find modern day ‘American culture’ at odds with ‘Jewish culture’ in terms of sexuality? I find it difficult to presume that either American culture or Jewish culture is entirely monolithic. There are many different streams, many different conversations happening all the time! That said, I see in the broader secular culture, often, the presumption that sexuality is an item to be bought, sold, o…

Loving Uganda to Death: The Global Reach of Far-Right Christian Hatred

By Peter Montgomery

…Transforming Politics in Africa,” which among other things examines the African activities of the American Center for Law and Justice, the legal organization established by Pat Robertson and run by Jay Sekulow with the assistance of his son Jordan. A more recent article by PRA researcher Jandira Queiroz discusses the launch of the ACLJ’s Brazilian branch and the growing political power of Brazil’s evangelical minority which is resisting efforts t…