Killing the Buddha

High hopes for the first woman’s Times Square debut.

Testing the limits of tolerance on a psychic’s new book.

A new BBC documentary introduces the gospel’s most adorable foot soldier.

Lust and love in the Mennonite Church.

What’s so good about Good Friday, anyway?

Forget the standard litany of the best-selling books and most popular movies…

If the Religious Left is to lift, everyone counts — the soccer moms and sex workers, the cowboy preachers and radical faeries, and you.

In Marilynne Robinson’s new novel, forgiveness and grace come wrapped in a custard pie.

Is there a nice way to call someone a fool? Sam Harris doesn’t think so.
A review of his new book, Letter to a Christian Nation.

When an outsider goes to church on the Fourth of July, fireworks follow.

Ira Louvin, a drunkard, a brute, and one half of Elvis’ favorite gospel duo, sang in a tenor that pioneered the place of sin close to the heart of country music. A 6/6/6 special from the KtB archive.

For Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, it’s alright to get a little dirty, so long as you know which detergent will get your karma clean.

Editors’ note: This essay was first published in April 2001, long before Oprah’s Book Club chose Night as its latest selection. Yet especially in light of doubts concerning the reliability of Oprah’s previous pick, the question raised here remains relevant: In making the Holocaust a matter of theological concern, does Elie Wiesel’s classic memoir court historical revisionism?

Can a psychedelic rock band conjure real transcendence?

A Christian realist for the reality-based community.

On Friday nights, God likes to watch.

The almost-breaking point of Will Oldham.