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✴︎ Religion
How Jews Invented Heaven
Do Jews believe in heaven? I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been asked this question. Modern people—and especially Jews raised in the Reform tradition—are flummoxed by the notion of heaven, and the rabbis are less than helpful. “Jews believe it is this life that matters, not the next”: You hear this
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Can Science Explain Heaven?
There are those who believe that science will eventually explain everything—including our enduring belief in heaven. The thesis here is very simple: heaven is not a real place, or even a process or a supernatural event. It’s something that happens in your brain as you die. I first encountered this idea as I was researching
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Is Pope Benedict XVI a Bad Shepherd?
Two years ago Pope Benedict XVI—once known as “God’s Rottweiler”—displayed his gentler side on a pilgrimage to America. Television pundits spoke of his soft white hair, his smile, “his great warmth and his sense of humor,” says Thomas Noble, head of the history department at Notre Dame. On the trip Benedict confronted head-on the American
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Excerpt from “Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination With The Afterlife”
A groundbreaking history of the hereafter, “Heaven” by New York magazine contributing editor and religion editor Lisa Miller draws from both history and popular culture to reveal how past and presage visions of heaven have evolved and how they inspire us to both good and evil.
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The Statesman’s Joshunda Sanders Interviews Lisa
Eighty percent of Americans believe in heaven, and yet, if you were to ask most people what they believed Heaven to be, it would be unlikely that you’d hear the same thing too often. Terrorists responsible for Sept. 11 were promised a heaven that included 72 virgins. Others think of heaven as a place where
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03/25/2010 NPR: The Diane Rehm Show
On March 25th, Lisa appeared on NPR and WAMU’s “Diane Rehm Show. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the “listen” link in the top right corner of the show page. Or you can open to the show player directly here. local mirror of this podcast
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ReligionDispatches.org Ten Questions for Lisa Miller
Where contemporary culture has come to think of heaven as a place to chat, catch up with friends, and eat ice cream, conservative believers are concerned that God has been left out of the picture. A new book by Newsweek’s religion editor, Lisa Miller, covers this and other top stories on the celestial beat. Ten
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HarperCollins
Buy “Heaven” at HarperCollins.com
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America – National Catholic Weekly Interviews Lisa
On March 15th, Lisa appeared on America Magazine’s podcast hosted by Kerry Weber.
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The Washington Post’s Sally Quinn Interviews Lisa
On March 22nd, 2010, Sally Quinn interviewed Lisa for the The Washington Post in a video called “Divine Impulses: Newsweek religion editor Lisa Miller on the decline of hell.” Miller talks about the “paradox” of heaven and the myths and truths behind claims of “72 virgins” for Muslim holy warriors.