What a Series of Cosmic Evangelical Thrillers Tells Us About Money in America

The sixteen-novel Left Behind series of evangelical thrillers is at least as influential a text in the annals of latter-day prophecy belief as the Book of Revelation. Which, of course, happens to furnish source material for the series’ intensively literalist accounting of the rapture, the tribulation, and the final…
Christian Metalcore Bro Converted by Richard Dawkins
Shannon Low, the lead singer of Missouri-based Christian metalcore band The Order of Elijah, has posted a lengthy Facebook missive about his crisis of faith, one that led him from proselytizing for Jesus via the godly vessel of shredding and into the creaky, treelike arms of atheism—and all because he read a Richard…
This Is a Good Story About Growing Up Evangelical
Plenty of people didn’t realize the church was a church, even when they drove past it on Algonquin Road, even when the sign was put out front with enormous lettering, even when Christmas came. They thought it was a community college, maybe, or they didn’t think about it all other than when they got stuck in traffic at…
Extremely Republican Bible Controversy Between Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio Is Extremely Republican
Ted Cruz asked his campaign communications manager Rick Tyler to resign on Monday, after Tyler presumably committed some kind of reprehensible, salacious offense. Actually, nah.
'Pink Sisters' Complete 100 Years of Continuous Prayer
A group of cloistered nuns known as the “Pink Sisters” for their rose-colored habits have successfully completed 100 years of continuous prayer by working in shifts. Now, they are working to achieve the next 100.
Two Dozen Religious Universities Are Legally Allowed to Discriminate Against LGBT Students
Over 24 religious colleges and universities have obtained exemptions from Title IX federal civil rights protections since last year, according to reports. These waivers allow the universities to discriminate against students, employees, and faculty on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation, and whether or not a…
Meet the Shock-Jock Theologian Offering Grace to a Small Town's Abusers, Forgiveness to the Abused
Doug Wilson is trying to save civilization. The pastor at Christ Church Moscow, a college town on Idaho’s border with Washington, doesn’t think things are going very well in America these days. He wouldn’t mind a return to Old Testament law, as he wrote in his book Fidelity: How to Be a One-Woman Man: “[W]hen we are…
How Sexism in the Church Almost Ruined My Life
In July 2014, my husband Daniel, our two young boys, and I took a full U-Haul from Cleveland, Tenn., to Richmond, Va., for Daniel’s new job as a teacher at a Christian private school. The move had pushed us past broke, into donations from relatives, but we were eager nonetheless. After many years, my husband had…
Quiverfull of Shit: a Guide to the Duggars' Scary Brand of Christianity
Before this week, when reality star and conservative political activist Joshua Duggar admitted to molesting several underage girls, including his own sisters, what most people knew about the Duggar family could be counted on two fingers: They have 19—19!—kids, and they’re extremely religious Christians.
Hobby Lobby Family Now Funding Birthright Trips for Evangelicals
Evangelical Christians in America have long operated under a vaguely but firmly pro-Israel and anti-Palestine cultural consensus—for example, the Pew Research Center found 72 percent of evangelicals sympathizing with Israel and only 4 percent sympathizing with Palestine when asked to pick sides in the territorial…
Obama's Mom 'Must Have Been a Muslim' Says Billy Graham's Honest Son
President and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Rev. Franklin Graham either completely slept through 2008 (when we all learned exhaustively about President Obama's upbringing), or is suffering from a grave lapse in memory. According to Talking Points Memo, the evangelical Reverend told the Family…
Shamed Ex-Pastor Mark Driscoll Has Launched His Comeback Attempt
Former megachurch pastor and douchebro for Jesus Mark Driscoll was forced to step down from his post at Seattle's Mars Hill Church this summer, after the church's board accused him of "ungodly and disqualifying behavior," including alleged abuse and bullying of church members. Now, because this is America, he's very…
