This is a collection of my recent essays and journalism. I am always eager for reactions and critique, so please take advantage of the discussions of them on The Row Boat.

Proof Enough for Me
Killing the Buddha, November 5, 2008
When the usual proofs for God don’t do the trick, sometimes you have to think up your own.
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Agnostic Machinery
Seed, October 29, 2008
Bill Maher hoped to use science to paint religion as a neurological disorder, but the researchers he interviewed in his film Religulous hold a much more complex picture of why we have faith.
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Far Out (Where went the ancient astronauts?)
The Smart Set, October 28, 2008
The idea that gods are aliens is back in fiction. But why’d it fade as a popular, real-live theory in the first place?
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Obama Territory
Religion Dispatches, October 8, 2008
A Baptist church in Brooklyn puts its hopes in Barack Obama, but will he remember them when he comes into his kingdom?
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Sarah Palin’s Big Bad Creationism
AlterNet, September 9, 2008
People are whispering that McCain’s VP pick doesn’t believe in evolution. But how much would this really affect policy?
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Dialogue in the Dark
Religion Dispatches, September 3, 2008
Review of Michael Novak’s No One Sees God, the neoconservative theologian’s effort to dialog with the New Atheists.
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Despite Overwhelming Evidence, Creationists Cling to Unreality
AlterNet, July 31, 2008
Review of Lauri Lebo’s The Devil in Dover with some thoughts about moving forward in the evolution controversies. Note: in the discussion I explain my reservations about the title that the editors chose.
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Rumors of God’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
Religion Dispatches, July 16, 2008
A leading evangelical takes on the “God is dead” crowd in the flagship journal of the conservative movement, but neither theists nor atheists will win this argument until they stop misrepresenting each other and misinforming their readers.
[ link | pdf | discussion (continued) ]

Until the World Laughs with God
Religion Dispatches, July 3, 2008
Mike Myers’s latest movie, plagued by interfaith protests, bad reviews, and a poor showing at the box office, makes us ask, once again, whether religion is allowed to be funny.
[ link | pdf ]

Power Belongs to God
Religion Dispatches, June 9, 2008
A review of Jeff Sharlet’s book, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.
[ link | pdf ]

What Happens to Religion When It Is Biologized?
Science & Spirit (now Search), May/June 2008
Explores the religious vitality of new efforts to explain human religiosity with cognitive science, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology.
[ link | pdf | On 3QuarksDaily ]

Apocalypse Without God
Religion Dispatches, May 2008
An interview with Mark C. Taylor about his recent book, After God.
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

Big Hopes for a Slow Opera: Restoring Virtue to Its Feet with the Met’s Satyagraha
The Brooklyn Rail, May 2008
Follows a group of Sanskrit students through a weekend of spiritual and political events leading up to the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of Satyagraha by Philip Glass.
[ link | pdf | discussion ]

The Biblical Circus of William Stringfellow
Religion Dispatches, March 2008
Through the lens with my experiences in his books, explores the work of William Stringfellow, a theologian and lawyer who disturbs the usual assumptions.
[ link | pdf ]

Blessed and Holy Confusion:
Can a Dose of Religion Save Washington Square Park?
The Brooklyn Rail, March 2008
Revolving around a worship service and protest at Judson Memorial Church, explores the different perspectives at play in the renovation of Washington Square Park.
[ link | pdf ]