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Features

Science and faith personified

Features
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President Barack Obama’s nomination of Francis Collins to head the National Institutes of Health is good news for scientists, for people of faith, and for all Americans. Dr. Collins, a preeminent geneticist and devout Christian, is highly qualified for the job because of his skills and his values.
In the 1990s he led the Human Genome [...]

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A conversation with uber-atheist Sam Harris

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In 2001 Sam Harris was a graduate student in neuroscience. But like so many people, 9/11 radically altered his life. Seeing affluent young men kill themselves and others in the name of their God led him to conclude there was something fundamentally wrong with many of the world’s religions. I spoke with Harris about his thoughts on religious fundamentalism, atheism, and terrorism.

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Young Muslim-American calls for inclusion and respect

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For over two decades, the Muslim Public Affairs Council has been a leading national voice on behalf of the Muslim American community. MPAC works with policy leaders, law enforcement agencies, the entertainment industry, and others to shape policies and public opinion concerning Muslim Americans. MPAC also works within Muslim American communities to develop strong leadership [...]

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Religious wisdom of America’s founding fathers

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The founding fathers’ purposes were clear. They had no intention to found the country according to Christian doctrines.

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The art of water boarding

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“In my dungeon even the pope himself would confess, that he is a witch!”
-A German inquisitor during the time of the witch trials

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20 ways faith groups are fighting for the earth

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Faith groups are greening their houses of worship and advocating for policies and lifestyles that protect the planet and its most vulnerable inhabitants, joining scientists, policymakers and environmental advocates as protectors of the Earth. Here are 20 things these communities are doing to combat global warming.

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Varanasi, India: where Hindus go to die

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Hinduism’s holiest city, Varanasi draws a million pilgrims each year. Their mission is to pray, to wash away their sins in the Mother Ganges River, and to die.

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Happy birthday Thomas Jefferson, you blasphemous heretic you

Features

Imagine if Barack Obama took a copy of the Bible and cut out his favorite passages with scissors, glued them onto paper and said, “there, that’s a better version.”

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Women in the Bible, one novel at a time

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Men are the central characters in most Bible stories. But for one author, it’s all about the ladies.
An interview with Eva Etzioni-Halevy.

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The ghost of Daniel Johnston

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If Daniel Johnston were born in a different time and place, he might have been burned as a heretic or confined forever to an insane asylum. But in this age, the self-taught singer-songwriter, given to paranoid delusions about Satan and violent outbursts, has become a revered figure in the underground art and music world.

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David Plotz’ Good Book: a review

Features

His column “Blogging the Bible” on Slate.com was the precursor to his new book about his Bible reading adventure called Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible. “Every single word of the Bible” doesn’t include the New Testament of course. As a Jew, he is exempt.

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