LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY hummingwolf)

"A skillful mixing of religion and politics helped President Bush silence critics and sell his policies on terrorism and Iraq to the nation, according to a new book that analyzes hundreds of public communications and news reports. As Bush makes his case for a second term, the research by David Domke documents how during his first term the president effectively linked religious terminology with political goals in the turbulent months after the Sept. 11 attacks."

[Edit: The University of Washington has the same article plus a graph here without the pop-up ads.]

This next link isn't strictly related to the dark side of Christianity, but some of you may find it intriguing anyway: Interview about lost Christianities--belief systems that didn't cut it.

(First link via scienceblog, second via rsschristdot)

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY seshen)

A new book is coming out by Elaine Pagels, author of "The Gnostic Gospels."


No More Creeds: How the Gnostic Gospels Are Transforming Christianity. The discovery of ancient texts challenges the idea that Christianity always had a single, authorized set of beliefs.