Latest Articles
Port paranoia: The Dubai deal
Congressional leaders from both parties responded quickly to White House approval of a deal that allows Dubai Ports World company, owned by the United Arab Emirates, to control shipping operations ...
Acting Methodist: A history in theater
Mario cuomo, no mean rhetorician, is no expert on Christian denominations....
On the waterfront: A diversion from the fight against terrorism
If President Bush were running for reelection, he would probably be opposed to letting an Arab company run six American ports. He would use Karl Rove's game plan for electoral success: run on national security, and stress that you, unlike your opponent, understand the ruthlessness of terrorists and the gravity of threats in the post-9/11 world. Many members of Congress seemed to be mindful of Rove’s advice as they blasted away at the Bush administration for allowing Dubai Ports World to manage shipping terminals in the U.S.In this case, the Bush administration has taken a nuanced view of national security, one that argues that long-term security depends on good relations with the Arab world and on the ability to foster alliances in the Middle East.
Presbytery backs gay wedding rites: Minister cleared by church court
A lesbian minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who conducted weddings for two same-sex couples has been cleared by a church court in northern California of misconduct charges. ...
The life force (Ephesians 2:1-10)
As much as we might like to make the faith about spiritual enlightenment or ethical ideals or the broad love of God that inspires tolerance, the fact of the matter is that the gospel is at root a rescue story.
Star power: The limits of celebrity activism
As chief spokesperson for the One Campaign, U2 rock star Bono asks fans not for money, but for a personal commitment to taking a stand against poverty. The campaign, founded by Bread for the World, CROP, World Vision and other organizations, has 2 million U.S. members.
Name-dropping: Hebrews 5:5-10
It is not pain and violence that God desires, says the preacher of Hebrews. It is human life as God created it to be, summoned it to be.
Take and read
When it emerged in the 1980s, the Irish rock group U2, with its lead singer Bono, displayed a spiritual passion that countered the big-h...
Healing the political psyche
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the progressive Jewish magazine Tikkun, understands that a bipolar p...
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
You might expect that a movie with the teasing title The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada would deal with issues of redemption and resurrection....
Hearts on fire: Pentecostal spirituality
Pentecostal styles of worship and spirituality have come to pervade mainstream Christianity, as Larry Eskridge points out....
Cartoon calculus: Light and heat
Cartoons are, by their nature, caricatures: they are oversimplified in order to make a forceful point and provoke debate. Editors know that one powerful cartoon can generate more furor than dozens of provocative articles, so they make a rough calculation: Will the cartoon generate light as well as heat? Will the publishing of it be, as St. Paul would put it, not only lawful but beneficial? Did Flemming Rose, culture editor of Jyllands-Posten, make the wrong calculation in publishing cartoons that featured the Prophet Muhammad?
Century Marks
Dr. Spin: A seminary class was debating whether the Garden of Eden story (Gen. 2-3) reinforces or resists the oppression of women when one student interjected: “It’s all just spin anyway. You can spin the text any way you want.” But Professor Jacqueline Lapsley, ruminating on the unlikely story about Balaam and his donkey (Num. 22-24), says two principles of biblical interpretation can guard against spin: our interpretation shouldn’t reinforce our own self-interest, and it should serve the larger purposes of God, that is, God’s love “for Israel, for the church and for the whole world” (Interpretation, January).
Evangelicals split on global warming: How and whether to address climate change
Warning of millions of potential deaths worldwide from climate change, a new network of evangelical leaders has launched a campaign for government and grassroots action to reduce global warming....
Christians, Muslims must 'put out fire' WCC's Kobia on cartoon controversy: WCC's Kobia on cartoon controversy
Interfaith relations—and tensions—quickly took center stage at the opening of the World Council of Churches’ ninth assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, as Christian leaders grappled with Muslim rage o...
WCC churches urged: Address climate change: One of humanity's most dire threats
Saying climate change represents one of humanity’s most dire threats, the top official of the World Council of Churches has appealed to denominations around the world to speak with one voice to ale...
Divestment advice not ready for Presbyterians: PCUSA panel needs more time
A church investments panel said it needs more time before it can recommend whether the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) should pull assets from five companies operating in the Middle East....