Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff The Holy War Delusion: Is it Time to Retire Our Religions?
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Mar 18, 2026 A critique of how religious identities are weaponized by nationalism and literalist readings. A look at the Axial Age idea that scripture-based linear narratives shaped modern violence and state power. An argument that new media and AI invite non-linear, all-at-once ways of thinking. A call to rescue living spiritual practices while rejecting holy-war frameworks.
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Rabbis Calling About Judaism Feeling Tarnished
- Douglas Rushkoff recounts rabbis calling him in tears after October 7th because Jewish identity feels tarnished by Israel's actions.
- One rabbi said she stopped wearing a kippah and another said Israel may have made Judaism untenable, illustrating personal anguish over national acts.
Literal Reading Turns Scripture Into Deed Not Dialogue
- Rushkoff argues treating sacred texts as literal real estate deeds destroys their timeless, interpretive power.
- He says literalism locks meaning into a single historical claim, killing the spiritual project's ongoing dialogic purpose.
Two Modern Anti Semitisms Target Jews From Both Sides
- Rushkoff distinguishes two modern anti-Semitisms: right-wing hatred of Jews as foreigners and left-wing critique of Jews as colonialists because of Israel.
- This dual hostility leaves many Jews attacked from both nationalist and anti-colonial narratives.