A new book redefines the faith debate. The atheist writers Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have presented us with a choice: either you don’t believe in God or you’re a dope. “It is perfectly absurd for religious moderates […]
Robert Wright’s The Evolution of God Read More »
When President Barack Obama talks about finding common ground on abortion, as he did during his commencement address at Notre Dame over the weekend, he’s not really talking about abortion at all. The president is pro-choice, which means that he
To Solve Abortion Start Talking About Sex Read More »
I say this with respect: Pope Benedict XVI has a public-relations problem. You need only remember the 2000 visit of John Paul II to Jerusalem—which earned wall-to-wall cable coverage and produced the unforgettable image of the frail pope praying by
Public Relations for the Pope Read More »
2012: A Y2K for the New Age ‘Around … 2012, a large chapter of human history will be coming to an end, and a new phase of human growth will commence.’ Scholars rarely love popularizers, and nowhere is this enmity
New Age Apocalypse 2012 Read More »
New ways to download the Good Book. Like so many Christians, Kevin McNeese carries his bible to church on Sundays. He “pops it open,” he says, and follows along as the pastor reads that week’s chapter and verse from the
The Bible for iPhones and Kindles Read More »
The author of ‘The World’s Religions’ looks back on 90 years of prayer, yoga and dropping acid. Huston Smith is doing publicity for his 14th book, though at nearly 90 he is debilitated by osteoporosis and can’t get up from
Huston Smith’s Wonderful Life Read More »
How do you preside over the funeral of a 17-year-old boy who went to school one Tuesday morning and, with his good buddy Eric Harris, massacred 13 people just for fun? Dylan Klebold helped perpetrate one of the bloodiest school
Columbine 10 Years Later Read More »
The way you talk about your desire for common ground, it turns out, signals whose side you’re actually on. Advice to would-be culture warriors in the 21st century: walk softly and carry a big thesaurus. According to the conventional wisdom,
The Battle Over Abortion Language Read More »
A Ceasefire in the Culture War By making ‘abortion reduction’ a priority, Obama courts his frenemies. How does a democratic, pro-choice president avoid engaging in a culture war? This is the question that faces Barack Obama as he begins to
Abortion Reduction and Obama Read More »
Once is lucky. Twice is nice. Three times—well, anyone can tell you that’s a tradition. It is a great pleasure, then, to unveil the third annual installment of what we at NEWSWEEK fondly call the “hot rabbis list.” Created, maintained
Is Your Rabbi Hot or Not? Read More »