The idea of literalism in the Bible is a very new phenomenon. In many ways, it's a product of the scientific revolution.

The Israelis have not been willing to take the crucial step, and that is to withdraw from the Palestinian territory, the West Bank. And this is a crucial point and Israel has not only kept increasing the settlements in number, but have built highways among all the settlements from which the Palestinians are now excluded.

Authoritarians tend to consolidate support by using fear, but more importantly by driving a wedge among the people that they want to control.

I think that in many ways, some of those who did vote for Trump are sorry that they did so. But the hope, at least, is that we have a chance to make up for those kinds of mistakes.

Well I wouldn't want to tell Obama specifically what to do, but obviously he's already promised publicly and privately, both before and after he was elected president, that he was going to open up communications with Iran.

It is the job of the historian to say what is likely, and of faith to say what is possible.

Religion, it must be understood, is not faith. Religion is the story of faith.