Christians & Atheists Together (Cooler Than Jesus,...)

I'm surprised I hadn't seen this before, because The New York Times' Ross Douthat seems to have hit the NewAge nail on the head, only he calls it being "a nation of heretics." I know it's NewAge because he lists many of the traditionally NewAge phenomena - prosperity preachers (Joel Osteen, specifically) self-help gurus, and Deepak Chopra - while also saying these are things, both, Christians and atheists can despise.

Got that? The NewAge disaster is something we can agree on! 

I just want to be sure readers understand, because people are always asking me what I'm going on about, when I'm long past wanting to repeatedly going back into TMR's archives to find posts that explain it. (I've "moved on" as the NewAgers say.)

Anybody still want to know what TMR is railing about? 

This is (partially, but mostly) it,...

ADDED - A few observations:

Notice how this discussion is progressing:

Both Bill Maher and Ross Douthat understand the subject matter. It's not like when I discuss Mormonism with folks online, who seem compelled to defend it, without knowing anything about it. Also, Maher and Douthat aren't bullshitting - there's no attempt to one-up each other, and Douthat doesn't get insulted, sidetracked, or attempts to change the subject to behavior, merely because Maher swears or something. They are two serious scholars of religion and "spirituality," taking each other and the subject seriously.

It's wonderful, and I'd like to see more of it - especially online.