TRUE FOR THEE BUT NOT FOR ME: “The American double standard on religious violence.”

A new survey from Public Religion Research Institute, and a new joint report by PRRI and the Brookings Institution, reveals that Americans literally apply a double standard when answering this question, depending on whether the perpetrator is Christian or Muslim. More than 8-in-10 (83 percent) Americans say that those who commit violence in the name of Christianity are not truly Christian. On the other hand, less than half (48 percent) of Americans extend this same principle to Muslims and say that those who commit violence in the name of Islam are not truly Muslim.

I was going to argue with this report. At their respective foundings, Christianity and Islam had asymmetric relationships to the state. And Anders Behring Breivik’s Christianity is cultural rather than theological or spiritual. But then it dawned on me: The Golden Rule applies here. If I don’t want to be judged by the faux Christianity of Breivik, then perhaps I cut Muslims slack when they claim that the 9/11 Hijackers were bad Muslims. So, shame on me for my double standard!

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JOHNNY CASH APOLOGETICS: “Believing in Johnny Cash: An Open Letter to Atheists.”

If [empirical] facts are what define that circle, stories are what is added to the facts. Stories take you outside that circle. In my use of the word, stories are interpretations of the facts. (Therefore scientific theories, being interpretations, are themselves stories of a kind. But I am thinking of interpretation in the less radical, more colloquial sense of the word).

What I propose is that no one lives, or can live, or has ever lived, within the circle of empirical science. I propose that no matter who we are or what our beliefs might be, we have always had to deal with the question of interpretation. And that question is not whether to interpret, but how. No one fails to interpret. Interpreting is what human beings do.

Put another way, we cannot avoid believing in stories. We can only hope to choose the best ones. How to do this? I propose that good stories are stories that tell the truth, and bad ones are ones that do not.

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WHAT CIVILITY IS AND WHY IT MATTERS: “Manners, Morals and the Etiquette of Democracy”

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NO, AND BART EHRMAN EXPLAINS WHY “Is the Jesus Story a Myth?”

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POPULAR MECHANIC DOES THE LORD’S WORK: “Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report.”

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RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OR CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM? “How 9/11 changed religion in America.”

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RESULT, NOT CAUSE OF… “Christians in China: Is the country in spiritual crisis?”

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MISSION TO MUSLIMS: “How Heather Mercer’s Hostage Stint Turned into Global Hope.”

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CONFLICT PREVENTION OR RESOLUTION (OR BOTH)?“A Bully-Free World?”

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ASK SARAH PALIN AND MICHELE BACHMANN: “Are Evangelical Women Primarily Interested in Parenthood?”

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DOESN’T EVERYONE? “Evangelicals Hold Pessimistic Views about the Economy.”

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WHAT’S THE POINT OF IT? “Ultra-Orthodox Jewish ‘Facebook’ separates the sexes.”

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NAME AND SHAME: “The Monster’s Story”

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FROM MY MAGAZINE: “Moving Beyond the Barriers: Restoring Corporate Holiness” by L. Alton Garrison.