Features
Families of faith: Sociologist Vern Bengtson
"Religiosity is a driving force more salient than belief. Agreement with specific beliefs is the least likely religious trait to be passed on."
Dress code: Case by case
The pastor seemed happy to meet Evan, and he said positive things about his work for the Calvary Center. Then he noticed Evan's yarmulke.
A response to "Dress code" Case by case: Case by case
While this is a “teachable moment,” Bill’s knock on the door will remind his minister that the words uttered at previous teachable moments in the pulpit and in the classroom have fallen on rocky soil.
Worship on the run: A new kind of church
Christians have long found spiritual meaning in running. But the church has held this sort of personal experience at arm's length—until recently.
So much for unity
I used to read Ephesians 4 and get that vague, warm glow we Mennonites feel when we see the word peace. Now the passage stops me cold.
Books
A Land without Sin, by Paula Huston
Last year, Image magazine founder Gregory Wolfe launched a literary imprint at Wipf & Stock called Slant, aiming to publish fiction unafraid of metaphysical themes....
John Updike: The Collected Stories, edited by Christopher Carduff
To read John Updike is to remember just how upper-middle-class and masculine his fictional universe is.
Before the Door of God, edited by Jay Hopler and Kimberly Johnson
The devotional lyric has been adapted for various artistic explorations. This generous collection includes selections of the form that invoke, praise, beseech, ridicule or abandon faith....
Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish, by David Rakoff
It's easy to write off David Rakoff's novel in verse as a cliché. But Rakoff was master enough of his craft that his rhymes lapse into doggerel only when he chooses.
Warrior God
How are we to reconcile the Old Testament's violence with the gospel? Jerome Creach's book is among the best of a recent stream of books on the topic.
Departments
Keeping Christmas
The miracle of love is that the more you love, the more alive you are. Keeping Christmas is believing in the transforming power of love.
Slaughter in East Timor
For decades, Western human rights groups sounded the alarm about East Timor. Rarely did they note the religious dimension.
Kindred, by Roger Hutchison
It was a simple oak table adorned with plain dishes and a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables.” So begins Roger Hutchison’s book The Painting Table: A Journal of Loss and Joy, a combination storybook and guide, inspired by a table left ...
Joyous gospel
As Francis sees it, the joy of the gospel is rooted in an experience of God's love in Jesus. And this gospel gets people involved in the world's messiness.
News
The Twible delivers holy writ with Twitter wit
Nearly every home has at least one Bible, although few read it....
Slimmer NCC trims its priorities and personnel
Finished with two years of “pruning and untangling” its operations, the National Council of Churches announced that it has cut 11 full-time positions while consolidating operations in Washington, D.C....
National Cathedral will charge visitors
Facing a $26 million earthquake repair bill and years of persistent deficits, the iconic Washington National Cathedral will start charging visitors an admission price in 2014....
Pope hits capitalist zeal, asks rich to share wealth
Laying out a blueprint for the issues that are likely to define his papacy, Pope Francis has issued a biting critique of capitalism, calling on world leaders to fight against poverty and for the rich to share their wealth and urging the media to a...
Clergy tax break under review
A federal judge has ruled that an Internal Revenue Service exemption that allows clergy to shield a portion of their salary from federal income taxes is unconstitutional....
Facing death: fight, choose or let it come
Death may be inevitable, but one in three Americans—including most blacks and Hispanics—want doctors never to quit fighting it. And that number has nearly doubled in 23 years, a new survey finds....