A fairly new and thoroughly obnoxious Christmas tradition is for right-wing American Christian fundamentalists to detect some imagined slight and pronounce it part of the “War on Christmas,” with this year’s battle lines drawn around the Starbucks’ winter-themed cups, as…
Tag: Christianity
Why Many Muslims Hate the West
Exclusive: Many Americans and Westerners are baffled by the violent rage expressed by many Muslims, but the reasons for their anger are real, deriving from a “deep history” of anti-Islamic wars and colonial exploitation of the Middle East, as ex-U.S.…
Gay Marriage and Western Muslims
The evolution of thought on gay marriage shows how religions can adapt to humanistic trends of society, but religious fundamentalists refuse to budge from ancient prejudices, a challenge confronting not only Judaism and Christianity but Islam, as ex-CIA officer Graham…
The Dangers of Religious Primitivism
By stirring up the Middle East from Western exploitation of oil to Zionist expulsion of Palestinians Christians and Jews set in motion today’s “clash of civilizations” with Islam and launched all three religions on a path toward dangerous primitivism, a threat…
An Urgent Reassessment of Jesus
Many Christian churches opt for comforting their parishioners with reassuring ceremonies, banal sermons and even appeals to popular nationalistic sentiments rather than challenging them with the tough calls from Jesus for social justice, a grave failure, says Rev. Howard Bess.
Misunderstanding Jesus’s Execution
From the Archive: In Holy Week, many Christians celebrate what they regard as God’s sacrifice of his Son and the Resurrection. But some scholars see another narrative in which Jesus, a rural rebel, brings his critique of the Jewish-Roman power structure to Jerusalem and…
‘Christianists’ Howl at Obama’s Truth-telling
Though founded by a pacifist who spoke for the oppressed, Christianity has contributed to more wars, injustices and genocides in all corners of the world than any other religion. But President Obama’s glancing reference to this reality prompted howls of…
The Christmas Truce’s Moment of Hope
A century ago, a remarkable moment for humanity occurred amid the killing fields of World War I as soldiers from both sides put down their guns and exchanged Christmas greetings, an unauthorized truce that was soon suppressed so the slaughter…
Asking Christians about Tolerance of War
Many Americans are tuning out on politics and international affairs feeling they have no real say in what the government does but there is a danger from such passivity, particularly the license given to the powers-that-be to make war and…
Should Christians Embrace Gay Marriage?
The issue of gay marriage appears headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court where the justices may finally decide if states can bar gay couples from marrying or not. Currently, 33 states and the District of Columbia recognize gay marriage,…