Latest Articles
Arrested development
In director Todd Field’s Little Children, adapted from Tom Perrotta’s best-selling novel, Kate Winslet plays Sarah, an intelligent, expensively educated woman who is raising a preschool daug...
Stuff: The insatiable desire for more
It is conventional wisdom that ministers hate stewardship season and dislike talking about money....
A third way: Commonsense pro-life measures
The elusive middle ground on abortion took concrete shape in September....
Century Marks
First Pluto, now limbo: The Catholic concept of limbo is about to be put out of business. Pope Benedict XVI is expected to disavow the place where unbaptized babies and those who lived before the time of Christ were thought to live for all eternity—on the limbus of heaven; that is, on its border, according to speculation by St. Augustine (Philadelphia Inquirer, October 6).
Forgiveness clause: The Amish way
The blood was barely dry on the floor of the West Nickel Mines School when Amish parents sent words of forgiveness to the family of the one who had slain their children. Forgiveness? Forgiveness so quickly for the heinous crime of killing five Amish schoolgirls? How could the Amish forgive such a thing so quickly? Was it a genuine gesture or just a gimmick?
Bread line: Letter from St. Petersburg
When I visited the Cathedral of the Icon of Kazan in St....
Sanctuary: Mary, Methodists and immigration
Hispanic Methodists in northern Illinois do not often receive national press coverage. But since one of their number, Elvira Arellano, took refuge from U.S....
Debunking some Pentecostal stereotypes: Successful in meeting needs of the poor worldwide
Pentecostalism and related “Spirit-filled movements” are rightly seen as a hard-driving engine fueling the global spread of Christianity, but their adherents are often wrongly seen as apolitical, o...
Edgar to leave NCC post by end of 2007: Gives chance for "seamless transition process"
Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, will not seek a third four-year term as the top administrator of the ecumenical organization....
Civilian death toll in Iraq estimated at over 600,000: NCC notes Lancet study
A newly estimated civilian death toll of more than 600,000 Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion confirms the fears of churches that opposed the war in 2003 and dramatically belies Washington’s estima...
Women clergy: Steps forward and back: Polarization of liberal and conservative groups noted
As women in mainline Protestant denominations rejoice over decades of ordination—United Methodists and Presbyterians this year celebrated 50 years of women ministers and Episcopalians the 30th anni...
Adventists require top faculty, trustees to be church members: Some fear harm to academic standing
In a move that internal critics say will hurt academic standing, leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church have voted to require all tenured faculty and board members at its educational instituti...
House-passed bill would discourage church-state suits: Legal fees for successful plaintiffs at issue
A bill passed by the House and a companion bill awaiting action in the Senate would remove money—at least the awarding of attorneys’ fees to successful plaintiffs— from cases related to public disp...
Court declines to hear Muslim course case: Activities in history class deemed educational
The Supreme Court declined on October 2 to hear a case from parents who complained after their children were required to simulate Muslim worship and attire as part of a history class....
Book says Bush aides duped religious allies: Criticizes handling of faith-based initiatives
A book by a former White House official is causing shock waves with its explosive allegations that President Bush’s aides mocked religious conservatives and duped them for political gain in the ear...
Briefly noted
Officials of the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. are considering selling their Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, headquarters building, which currently houses Baptist offices in less than ...
Benedict's blunder: Ground rules for Muslim-Christian conversation
I have been involved for 25 years in fruitful conversation with Muslims, and I have read the Qur’an and a lot of literature about Islam....
Reasoning together: What makes for genuine dialogue?
Now that the dust has settled from l’affaire Regensburg, it’s a good time to think about what makes for genuine interfaith dialogue....