Thursday's News & Ideas - 10/6/2022

American Christianity is on a path toward being a tool of theocratic authoritarianism*
The New Republic: As nonevangelical faiths lose adherents, it won’t be too long before the vast majority of Christians in America are seriously right wing. This is not good.

You should be bored in church
Christianity Today: Q&A with education professor Kevin Gary on the moral problem of the restless mind and why we need to learn to sit with tedium.

A pastor was part of the Jan. 6 mob — then preached about it, FBI says*
The Washington Post: The FBI are accusing Pastor Bill Dunfee of traveling from his home in Frazeysburg, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., where he allegedly instigated rioters, pushed barricades into officers and praised those who stormed the Capitol as they left the building.

On hit shows ‘Ramy’ and ‘Mo,’ Azhar Usman adds nuance about Islam (and joy) to Hollywood
Religion News Service: A few recent hits for Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus are shifting Hollywood’s narrative about American Muslims.

Lawsuits threaten Biden’s debt-relief plan*
Inside Higher Ed: The Biden administration is contending with four lawsuits while preparing for the rollout of its ambitious debt-relief program.

The Spark

One nation under water
The billions of dollars’ worth of destruction left by the floods in Pakistan* offers a strong case for climate-change reparations, The Atlantic says. Will the world heed it?

*access is limited for nonsubscribers