Peter Laarman

I’m a preacher and I can say with near certainty that 99% of the sermons preached yesterday morning didn’t get close to the level of truth-telling that’s needed. Nor will the compulsory “thoughts and prayers” pronouncements, nor the words spoken at memorial services over the next days and weeks.

Bible scholar Michael Coogan’s new book examines the dangers associated with the biblical concept of chosenness, which has its fingerprints on everything from the genocidal treatment of indigenous peoples to the idea that women, when thought by believers to have been created as mere vessels for reproduction, may be treated in the manner of brood cattle.

The ‘trustees of the First Church of American Religion’ express concern over the approach of Times columnist David Brooks: You place religious practice and affiliation in the category of palliative resources for those being crushed by the new ruthless economy, whereas the religion usually referred to as prophetic—a form of religion we still regard as indispensable—sees faith as much more than a kind of backstop for those who suffer.