In his new book “The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus” the Rev. Peter Gomes pushes Christians to see beyond what he says is the “domesticated” view of the Christian Lord and embrace instead the gospel message of radical good and radical justice. Gomes decries the slogan “What would Jesus do?” as superficial and self-justifying, preferring instead […]
Reverend Gomes’s “Scandalous Gospel” Read More »
Imagine, if you will, a world in which the right-wing pundit Ann Coulter were not a grating opportunist who said horrible things on air for her own personal gain. Imagine
On ‘Perfecting’ the Jews Read More »
He is the nicest right-wing evangelical powerhouse you’ve never heard of. Jim Daly grew up the last of five children in what anyone would call a broken home. His mother died when he was 10 and he lived with, in turn, a stepfather, a foster family, his own alcoholic father and his divorced brother. He
Love Thy (Gay) Neighbor Read More »
Relations between science and religion have grown so strained that it’s hard to imagine they were ever otherwise. Until the Enlightenment, however, science and religion were better than friendly: they were the same thing. The “scientists” at the great medieval universities were students of theology. Mining divine Scripture for insights into human morality and free
It isn’t every day that a Christian book–that is, a book written by a Christian author for a Christian audience and marketed by a Christian publisher–crosses over into the secular market and makes any kind of appearance on best-seller lists or gets noticed by the mainstream press. Rick Warren’s “The Purpose-Driven Life” had been on
Beliefwatch: Heavenly Read More »
The ancient Jews did it. So did the Romans and the Aztecs. Sacrificing an animal to please or placate God or the gods has been commonplace for many thousands of years. Still, it’s a little bit shocking when we see the practice in our own backyards.
Beliefwatch: Slaughter Read More »
For Mitt Romney, it all started in a two-story, wood-framed house on a busy street in Pontiac, Mich. Painted beige, encircled by an asphalt lot that would hardly hold a dozen cars, the building manages to look both decrepit and picturesque, like a million other urban churches across the country. Today it houses the Unity
Newsweek Cover Story: Mitt’s Mission Read More »
High above California, between campaign stops last week, presidential candidate Mitt Romney submitted to what he jokingly called “35 minutes of torture.” In a wide-ranging talk with NEWSWEEK’S Jonathan Darman and Lisa Miller, Romney touched on his family, his religion, his management style
‘We’ve Got to Fix Ourselves’ Read More »
Some stories are best told straight. On Sept. 8, Kathy Griffin, a bawdy, foulmouthed comedian, accepted an Emmy Award for her reality show, “My Life on the D-List,” and in her acceptance speech she explained that while other actors might thank Jesus for such an honor, she wouldn’t consider it. “Suck it, Jesus,” she exuberantly
Beliefwatch: Profane Read More »
Now two things devour my life,” wrote the poet William Butler Yeats. “The things that most of all I hate:/Fasting and prayers.” This week, the world’s billion Muslims and 12 million Jews will be fasting and praying in honor of Ramadan and Yom Kippur. Fasting is common to nearly every major religion; mystics fast to
BeliefWatch: Fasting Read More »