Latest Articles
The story of Old Man Cedar: A model of strength
In the latter years of the 19th century, an ashe juniper sprouted in a thicket near the Camino Real, the King’s Highway, just north of San Antonio, Texas....
Take and read
Christian Identity in the Jewish and Graeco-Roman World. Judith M. Lieu. Oxford Univ. Press, 384 pp., $99.00. In this multifaceted and sophisticated undertaking, Lieu explores the ways in which early Christian texts depict an emerging Christian identity and reflect the embeddedness of that identity within the ancient world. For all who struggle with the question of what it means to be a Christian, Lieu presents a thoughtful guide.
Take and read
A Harvard-trained sociologist, Ault immersed himself in the life of a fundamentalist Baptist congregation in northwest M...
For heart and mind
It has been over 25 years since Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline began introducing Protestan...
Twisted childhood
When he wrote Oliver Twist in 1837, Charles Dickens had a cause: he was protesting the harsh and unjust treatment of children in England....
Minding the Spirit
The spiritual life has often been seen as the concern of ordinary saints and well outside the purview of scholars....
The Poems of Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury since 2002, is the first Welshman in 1,000 years to hold the office....
Choice words: Speaking of disasters
At first Job’s friends were in good form on their pastoral visit: sensing the great suffering of their friend, they sat in silence with him for seven days and seven nights....
Virgin territory: Sex and the single man
With all of its jokes about bestiality, sexual harassment and pimpin’ for drunk ho’s, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is not a film to show the youth group. The humor is vulgar enough to make the producers of South Park blush. But in its own way the movie makes a case for virginity, one likely to gain a wider hearing than a True Love Waits campaign. It’s not only genuinely (if crudely) funny, but surprisingly human.
Donors favor those 'worthy' of compassion: A troubling trend
As Americans set new records for charitable giving in response to Hurricane Katrina, some fund-raisers are seeing a principle confirmed: when the sufferers are perceived as innocent victims, donors...
After Katrina, pleas for a focus on poverty: No to cuts in antipoverty programs
After Hurricane Katrina produced vivid images of poverty in America, leaders of five mainline denominations renewed their call on Congress to oppose deep cuts to programs serving the working poor, ...
Federal court finds pledge illegal—again: Newdow case refiled
A federal judge in California has ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional, deciding a case that had been refiled by an atheist whose previous challenge to the phrase “under God” rea...
Churches in Southwest will leave the ABC: May be start of national split over homosexuality
In what may be the beginning of a national split over homosexuality, leaders in a regional group of the American Baptist Churches USA have voted to begin leaving the denomination by the end of this...
Religion majors on the rise: Total enrollment in religion classes also growing
As a teenager in a Catholic high school and church, Lauren McCormick of Toms River, New Jersey, was taught to look at the world in ways that revolved around Jesus....
Muslim groups set $10 million aid goal: Domestic hurricane relief
A coalition of U.S. Muslim groups has pledged to raise $10 million in humanitarian relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina....
CNN taps reporter for faith/values beat: Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher in new role
CNN has chosen Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher to be the network’s first full-time faith and values correspondent....