friends of KtB
Why I Wrote The New Hate
Back in 2009, I published a book called Cults, Conspiracies and Secret Societies—a serious-minded but basically gee-whiz impulse-buy type compendium of odd, offbeat, and scary beliefs and belief systems. “Mystics,” I wrote in its introduction, “believe that multiplicity and change are illusory; that everything is ultimately interconnected…that our universe is a cosmic One in which…
Reporting from the Thin Line
In the fall of 2010, I set off to tour the United States talking up Jesus Died for Buy Cheap Cialis Soft This? and conducting research for Ancient Future Disciples. These recent pilgrimages allowed me to witness an explosion of global grassroots communities who are moving away from the attractional model of “cool” church that…
NYC Event: The World 9/11 Created
Voice of Witness, the non-profit arm of McSweeney’s Books, has put together their latest collection of oral histories in time to be included in our reflections on 9/11 and the world that day created. On Tuesday, September 13, Buddha-killer Scott Korb welcomes Alia Malek, editor of VoW’s Patriot Acts: Narratives of Post-9/11 Injustice, to the Jerry…
Tune in to Frequencies!
Everyone talks about “spirituality,” but less often is it especially clear what we (or they) actually mean. That’s why, together with The Immanent Frame and the historians of religion Kathryn Lofton and John Lardas Modern, Killing the Buddha has been quietly working since the beginning of the year to develop Frequencies, a new online “collaborative genealogy…
Frank Schaeffer Takes the World by Storm
Congrats to Buddha-killer Frank Schaeffer, whose new book, Sex, Mom, & God (excerpted here at KtB) is getting attention in some nice places. We’re seeing it everywhere. Just today we noticed a column by Mark Oppenheimer in The New York Times and an appearance on Democracy Now! Congratulations, Frank!
An Eden Full of Dudes
The end is the beginning is the end (that’s a Smashing Pumpkins line), and all are in Eden. Today at Religion Dispatches, Brook Wilensky-Lanford and I talk about her brand new book, Paradise Lust, out this week. It tells the stories of some bold explorers from the past few centuries who have tried to figure…
Lost Places of the Heart: A Writing Contest
Our friends over at Obit have hatched another writing contest (remember the contest we did with them on death?), “Lost Places of the Heart.” We heartily encourage you to submit. Here’s how the call for entries goes: Houses, diners, restaurants, bars, stores, parks, hotels, vacation getaways—the places we love are a part of us. When…
Our Own Stephen Prothero on Tonight’s Colbert Report
Alert, alert! Pull those TV sets out of the closet and change the batteries in the old remote control. Because tonight, Buddha-killer Stephen Prothero will be appearing on The Colbert Report. 11pm. You’ve gotta watch. He’ll be talking about his important new book, God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—And…
Holy Crap and Holy Ground
In preparation for tomorrow night’s reading/party of Scott Korb’s new book (out in stores today!) Life in Year One, here are a couple of related pieces just out today. On the Washington Post‘s On Faith page, Korb takes a look at the question of holy ground: Historically, too many people have believed that God literally…
Reverend Billy Remembers Brad Will
Priya Warcry asks for New Yorkers to join Reverend Billy’s Rainforest themed parade from 5:30-6:30. Tuesday Oct 27th Reverend Billy joins with RainForest Relief, NYC Climate Action Group and Friends of Brad Will for a parade through Washington Square Park to draw attention to continued and unnecessary use of tropical rain forest timber for our…
Sarah Posner Now Sleuthing for RD
All you religious right no-goodies, watch your back. Investigative journalist Sarah Posner, author of God’s Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters and The American Prospect‘s much-missed FundamentaList column, started blogging yesterday for Religion Dispatches. And she’s already got five posts, true to form. Ain’t none of you gonna get away with…
Going Rouge
If you’re like me, there’s a big star on November 16 on your calendar. That, of course, is publication day for Sarah Palin’s “book,” Going Rogue. You’ll probably stay up all night reading; and the very next day, with only Thanksgiving and C how to teach a child phonics hristmas and Hannukah to look forward…
Say You’re One of Them
Buddha-killer Scott Korb has written about everything from hunting to basketball in his search for faith. Now he takes a look at Nigerian-born Jesuit Uwem Akpan’s new book of stories, Say You’re One of Them, for America, the national Catholic weekly. Akpan has long wanted to write about Africa’s children, and now he has, facing…
Recession Special: Buddha Killing in L.A.
Live in the Los Angeles area? Have the perfect Buddha-killing story but need to work on how to tell it? Low on cash? You’re in luck. KtB contributor extraordinaire Gordon Haber has reconfigured his religion writing workshop to be more affordable than ever: WRITING YOUR RELIGION ______________________________ WHAT IT IS: A four-week writing workshop that…
The Post Loves The Pure Lover
The Washington Post‘s Michael Dirda just gave a fantastic review to the new book by our very own David Plante, whose Essential Stories series we just wrapped up on Saturday. The book, published by the same folks at Beacon Press who unleashed our own Believer, Beware, is a tribute to David’s longtime, late partner, the…