Features
Adaptive faith: Religion in evolutionary perspective
An interdisciplinary group of scholars met recently to discuss religion in light of evolutionary biology.
Longing for home: Aging and the promises of God
It's hard for me to watch as places become a blur for my elderly parents. It's as if each home they've had has merged into one great longing.
Roommates and friends: A seminary does disability ministry
Western Seminary students had both needs and assets. So did the wider community's adults with disabilities.
Face-to-screen learning: Seminaries go online
The idea that students will reside on a campus and attend classes at specified times seems increasingly quaint.
Making ministry difficult: The goal of seminary
For all their problems, churches are often a good deal more self-critical and boldly innovative than seminaries.
Books
The Underground Church, by Robin Meyers
The whole time I was reading Robin Meyers’s The Underground Church, I couldn’t shake the presence of Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, and I kept trying to figure out why I kept wr...
God at hand
How did evangelicals develop their belief in an invisible God? T. M. Luhrmann argues that they created a space in their imagination.
Reinventing Bach, by Paul Elie
Elie (The Life You Save May Be Your Own) has the ability to weave together many small stories to narrate a big story....
The Eloquence of Grace, edited by James M. Childs Jr. and Richard Lischer
Sittler (1904–1987) was a renowned preacher, teacher and theological conversation partner, but his published writings are rather slim. The problem with this legacy, as Martin E....
Departments
The three faces of Guanyin
When Chinese leaders lifted the persecution of religion, what was in it for them? Actually, they stood to benefit in many ways.
Scientific literacy
Why does antiscience sentiment gain such traction in America? Conservatives deserve some blame, but so does the scientific community.
Holy Trinity and Crown of Thorns, by Ludmila Pawlowska
While wanting to be faithful to the Russian tradition of icon painting, Ludmila Pawlowska seeks a new way of expressing what Matisse (when he discovered icons) termed “luminosity and devotion.” Her own Orthodox faith and cultural heritage (she was...
Revisioning seminary
It’s time for bold, creative experiments in preparing women and men for the unique challenges of 21st-century ministry.
We’re still family
I don't like family sitcoms, so I long avoided Modern Family. But the show catches the way family can be both loathsome and life-giving.
News
Suit opposes tax credits that fund religious schools
Three civil liberties organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging New Hampshire’s new school-choice bill which provides scholarships funded by tax credits for underprivileged students to attend private schools....
Bangor Seminary ending degree programs
Bangor Theological Seminary plans to give degrees to about 45 students this spring—a large graduating class for a school that had only 13 graduates the year before....
Catholic hospital argues fetuses aren't 'people'
A Catholic hospital in Colorado has argued in court documents that it is not liable for the deaths of twin seven-month-old fetuses because those fetuses are not people under state law. So far, courts have sided with the hospital....
Lutherans warn Vatican against luring their unhappy members
Lutheran leaders have warned the Vatican that the creation of a structure to welcome conservative Lutherans into the Catholic Church would harm dialogue and damage ecumenical relations....
Episcopalians battle over aid to Israel
A group of prominent Episcopalians is criticizing their church’s stand on Israel, urging it to join 15 other denominations that are calling for an accounting of U.S. aid to Israel....
Praying for unity at National Cathedral inaugural service
President Obama started his second term with a traditional worship service and a challenge to help heal the nation’s divides....
Abortion views unchanged 40 years after Roe v. Wade
In the past four decades, American attitudes have changed markedly on gay marriage, smoking, bullying and a host of other cultural issues. But on Roe v....
Campus giveaway is in hands of foundation
Christian institutions hoping to win a free campus in western Massachusetts might soon face competition from others who are willing to pay for it, according to terms of a year-end donation from the property’s billionaire owners....