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   Through a Glass, Darkly What the Christian Right sees when it looks at American history. By Jeff Sharlet. Originally published in the December, 2006 issue of Harper's. [ Continue reading: ]  Jewish Freaks and Geeks "Jewish Freaks and Geeks," presented by Eddie Portnoy. The most wonderful thing the new Jewish magazine Jewcy has published yet. I usually hate those alternaJew, "look, we're freaky" features, but this one's historical, y'see. Only, I'm not being snarky -- I really love it. [ Continue reading: ] Workers of the World, Choose Your Venue Sharlet: I've had occasion to speak in some handsome venues over the years, but I'll probably never find a more lovely forum than Manhattan's midtown General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen... [ Continue reading: ] Sam and Pat and Mitt Sharlet: Has God been talking trash about Senator Sam Brownback to Pat Robertson? A year ago, I published a profile of Brownback in Rolling Stone in which I noted that Robertson, when asked for early favorites for '08, had spoken... [ Continue reading: ]  Azzam the American Holly Berman: The Revealer has long maintained that most reporters don't pay enough attention to the intellectual development of religious subjects, particularly those defined by their acceptance of and adherence to a creed. So Raffi Khatchadourian's New Yorker profile of... [ Continue reading: ]  What's the Matter With Somalia? American empire is so 2006 that very few members of the public can even be bothered by a tidy little U.S.-backed invasion like that of Somalia by regional bully Ethiopia -- not to mention a bombing run on the newly... [ Continue reading: ] The Name "Noam" Noam Scheiber of The New Republic has written a smart, long profile of Senator Sam Brownback, the most conservative candidate for president. TNR has only posted part of the story online, but it's still worth a look, especially for Brownback's... [ Continue reading: ] Consulting Jews? Daniel S. Brenner: The marketing of the marketing of Judaism. [ Continue reading: ] Oops Sharlet: File this under "roads not taken": In Total Cold War: Eisenhower's Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad (published by U. of Kansas press last year), historian Kenneth Osgood offers a brief account of the U.S. propaganda puffing of Buddhism during the 1950s. Not long after Henry Luce famously instructed his editors to "puff Graham" -- Billy, that is -- a network of agencies dedicated to Cold War "psychological warfare" -- the U.S. gov't term -- began promoting Buddhism to the American people, sponsoring research, exchanges, and the all around general celebration of Buddhism. Enlightenment thinking? Hardly. Buddhism fell under the heading of anything-but-communism. Anything, that is, but Islam, which, according to Osgood, the "total war" never got around to addressing. [ Continue reading: ]  What's Up with Radio? Greenfield: Christianity Today had an interesting idea to do a four-part series on the current and future state of Christian radio. In the first part, "What's Up with Radio?", Mark Geil provides an overview and asks (but doesn't really answer)... [ Continue reading: ] Prophetic Preaching Greenfield: Where have all the prophets gone? That's what Baptist preacher Marvin McMickle asks in his new book which encourages others to reclaim the tradition of prophetic preaching. Apparently he hasn't been listening to Pat Robertson.... [ Continue reading: ]  24 Hour Prayer People Greenfield: CBN reports on the increasing popularity of the 24/7 prayer movement -- an international and interdenominational movement dedicated to non-stop prayer. The piece focuses on Mike Bikcle and his International House of Prayer, but unfortunately makes no mention of... [ Continue reading: ]  The Late Night Show Nicole Greenfield: In an article in today's New York Times, Salman Masood writes about an eccentricity currently dominating Pakistani prime-time -- a cross-dressing, bisexual man who hosts a talk show as widow Begum Nawazish Ali. But because of bad reporting... [ Continue reading: ]  Read the Fine Print The Boston Globe's Drake Bennett may be misstating the case when it describes the early Church of Latter Day Saints as a bastion of "left-wing radicalism," but he makes a compelling case that there are serious theo-political obstacles to Mitt... [ Continue reading: ] |