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who would Jesus torture?

Just about anyone, it seems. New data from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life suggests that regular church goers in the US are significantly more likely to support the torture of suspected terrorists than those who worship rarely or not at all. The result illustrates the remarkable pliability of religion. You'd think, after all, that a doctrine in which the central myth recounts in gruesome detail a narrative of torture and execution would provide the basis for empathy (Matthew 25:36: 'I was in prison, and ye came unto me', etc.) Instead, compare the huge religious mobilisation of the American churches against gay marriage to their utter silence about human rights abuses.

an elaborate account of torture and executions

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Written by Jeff Sparrow on 2-05-2009, No comments

a new low for literary journals

If you visit the Quadrant homepage today, you'll find, nestled amongst the usual batty climate denialism, a section entitled 'Quadrant TV'. The lead headline runs: 'We've found a new editor for the Monthly'. Beneath it, there's a You Tube clip entitled 'Dumb blonde: are you smarter than a fifth grader', in which a young woman provides wrong answers to a quiz show, to much canned hilarity.

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Written by Jeff Sparrow on 1-05-2009, 11 user comments