Religion Dispatches
In a video released on her Facebook page, Sarah Palin insists that violent rhetoric plays no role in influencing actions while claiming that those condemning the use of angry rhetoric and images are themselves manufacturing a “blood libel” that may well “incite…violence.” So which is it?
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On numerous occasions Pope Benedict has ignored the connection between Christian anti-Semitism and Nazi racial anti-Semitism, and when posed a question about German responsibility for the Holocaust he fails to address it directly.
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National Public Radio may soon be under real assault from Republican lawmakers, if Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes’ comments about “liberal Nazis” are any indication. A congressman from Colorado Springs, Doug Lamborn is leading the charge.
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Adam Clayton Powell called it “cheap grace,” but we might call it “cheap atonement”: the effort by sinners to select which sins to acknowledge and repent.
Pope Benedict ended his heavily protested visit to England…
Read MoreThe Week in Religion, Poetically.
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Younger people are surrounded by vivid and accessible myths, like Avatar, that have taken the place of the Bible’s traditional role in providing the framework and role models for our lives.
Read MoreGlenn Beck accused the head of Jewish Funds for Justice of agreeing with the Nazis. Lewis Black responds.
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20th century Jewish aspirations for a revived national home were supported by three centuries of Christian enthusiasm—bolstered by biblical literalism—for the return of the Jews to “their land.” In this excerpt from the newly-released Zeal for Zion, Shalom Goldman traces the Christian roots of Zionism.
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Do we turn to the wrong institutions when we go to courts of law to attempt to enact forgiveness or reconciliation for genocide?
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Does morality come from religion or is it merely “the language games of one’s time”? Are the most basic moral boundaries we evolved that make life easier and less chaotic a reflection of the character of God? If there is no God, or if He doesn’t care about us, then our common morality is still the result of practical, reality-based needs, which also “teach” that a good life depends on the “Do unto others…” ethic.
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