What Does the Muslim World Really Want?
Depends which of the 1.6 billion Muslims you ask. A new film seeks to give depth to Western perceptions of Islam. Too bad they didn’t make it to Asia.
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Conservative Christians v. Avatar
Predictably, some conservative Christians have attacked Avatar for depicting pantheistic Na’vi as noble. Is it actually the film’s critique of greed and environmental neglect that offends?
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Apocalypse Left and Right: A Graphic Primer
Whether it’s the Mayan prediction of the 2012 cataclysm or the theology of the rapture, predictions of the end of the world tell us as much about ourselves as about the coming apocalypse. And we’ve got plenty to worry about either way.
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Hipsters v. Hasidim Over Brooklyn Bike Lane
Did Williamsburg’s Hasidic community have Mayor Bloomberg close a major bike lane simply because they were offended by the immodestly clothed hipsters biking through their neighborhood, as most of the press has reported? Was a topless protest the best way to respond?
Read MoreAvatar: ‘A Spectacular World Beyond Imagination’?
Hold the popcorn, we’re not quite there yet.
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Disney’s Lump of Coal
Disney’s The Princess and the Frog picks up where Katrina left off. The movie is a wholesale desecration of New Orleans, Creole culture, Cajun culture, religion, zydeco, and even Louis Armstrong.
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RDBook: Apocalypse Without God
Mark C. Taylor discusses how trends in today’s world are not “outside” religion, but are part of the history of religious thought.
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Detroit’s Baggy Pants Fatwa
We tolerate all manner of slovenly, scanty and bizarre dress, yet a fashion associated with young men of color is singled out for prohibition…
Read MoreChristians to Conservative Conference: Gays, No! Birchers, Yes!
Religious Right leaders are demanding that gay Republicans are excluded while remaining silent on conspiracy-minded John Birch Society.
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All the Lonely People: Holiday Blues and the Epidemic of Isolation
A new report on the isolated and lonely has our columnist calling on churches to open their doors and promote analog community.
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