Rabbi Rami: Has Religion Primed Us for Fake News?

Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler

by Rabbi Rami Shapiro – February 26, 2017

Grow

<em>Edit Article</em> Rabbi Rami: Has Religion Primed Us for Fake News?

Photo Credit: Janie Airey/Thinkstock.

Imagine these headlines: God impregnates betrothed teenager (Jesus); Accused murderer receives revelation on Mt. Sinai (Moses); Arab businessman flies to heaven on winged horse (Muhammad). Has religion primed us for today’s fake news?Rabbi Rami: At its best, religion uses the tools of the imagination—myth, parable, metaphor, symbol, and ritual—in its quest for meaning and purpose. At its worst, religion flattens the imagination in service to literalism. When prevented from thinking imaginatively, we will inevitably think stupidly. It is literalism rather than religion that may have primed us for fake news.Looking back, there was less talk in 2016 about the War on Christmas. Any idea why?I suspect there was less talk about the faux War on Christmas because people are finally waking up to the real War on Christians. Christians and Christianity are in mortal danger in many parts of the world. Those of us who oppose hatred of and violence against Jews and Muslims should be no less passionate about stopping the murder of Christians and the suppression of Christianity.A recent Pew study showed that religious …

Subscribe Today

What Do You Get As A Subscriber?

Author and teacher Rabbi Rami Shapiro has been called “one of the best bridges of Eastern and Western wisdom.” His newest book is Embracing the Divine Feminine.

Rabbi Rami also hosts a weekly podcast for S&H — check it out here.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an award-winning author, essayist, poet, and teacher. His spiritual advice column, "Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler," addresses reader questions pertaining to religion, spirituality, faith, family, God, social issues, and more.

His newest book is Surrendered—The Sacred Art: Shattering the Illusion of Control and Falling into Grace with Twelve-Step Spirituality.

He has this to say about religion: “To me, religions are like languages: no language is true or false; all languages are of human origin; each language reflects and shapes the mindset of the civilization that speaks it; there are things you can say in one language that you cannot say or cannot say as well in another; and the more languages you know, the more nuanced your understanding of life. Judaism is my mother tongue, yet in matters of the spirit I strive to be multi-lingual. In the end, however, the deepest language of the soul is silence.”