Latest Articles
Bunkered down
Guilt and remorse over Nazi atrocities and the horrors of World War II have consumed Germany for decades, influencing politics, culture and the arts, including cinema....
Recreational sex
Tom Wolfe may deny that his novel is about Duke, but having spent 20 years there I know a few things about the school....
Going down with the ship: In for the long haul
I will go down with this ship. And I won't put my hands up and surrender. There will be no white flag above my door. (Dido)...
Slow to answer: The reticence of Jesus
One of the paradoxes of Jesus as he is portrayed in the Gospels is his way of combining candor with reticence....
Graceful presence: Funeral hospitality
Those of us who work in the church know how trivial, vain and self-serving the “institutional” church (as we used to call it in seminary—as if there were any other kind) can be....
Good Sports: Integrity of baseball
Perhaps only in the U.S. would the “integrity of baseball” or any sport be the focus of political speeches and front-page newspaper articles....
Century Marks
Mind over matter: Once an outspoken critic of popular psychology, Paul C....
Shared solitude: My life as an oblate
Becoming an oblate—literally “one who is offered”—means joining a particular Christian monastic community as a kind of lay associate....
Gathering in expectation: Worship: Act one
On the night before he died, Jesus gave instructions for how the church was to stay together and remember him. His instructions were these: eat together. ...
Where I'm at Sunday: The church year, new and improved
Treasuring the freedom that allows us to honor our unique traditions and keep up with the times, we propose these special Sundays in the church year and offer accompanying liturgical resources:...
Church leaders decry Bush budget: Ecumenical Advocacy Days
Shortly before Capitol Hill got down to brass tacks on President Bush’s $2.57 trillion budget for 2006, the spending proposal came under blistering criticism in separate critiques by mainline Prote...
Impact possible, hard to gauge, says analyst: Progressive religious leaders' advocacy efforts
Carefully worded, sometimes stinging critiques by progressive religious leaders aiming at White House proposals and bills in Congress are proliferating....
Episcopal Church to forgo new bishops for year, leaders say: A time for healing
Seeking to accompany its apology to overseas Anglicans for the anguish caused by approving a gay bishop’s ordination in 2003, the U.S....
Gay marriage conflict renewed in California: Judge overturns marriage ban
Gay and lesbian activists cheered a ruling by a San Francisco judge that has overturned a statewide ban on gay marriage, but their conservative opponents say the rekindled controversy will ignite e...
Baptists in Texas, Virginia may join world alliance: Southern Baptists asserting independence
In what would be a first for the Baptist World Alliance, state associations of Southern Baptists in Virginia and Texas—who at times assert their independence from the Southern Baptist Convention—ha...
Peace churches warn of 'back door draft' Draft official visited Brethren facility: Draft official visited Brethren facility
Leaders of a dozen Mennonite, Quaker and Brethren churches that shun military service say they will coordinate their plans for “alternative service” programs for conscientious objectors should a dr...
Oregon reports drop in doctor-aided suicide: Low numbers unlikely to defuse issue
Thirty-seven Oregonians died by doctor-assisted suicide last year, a slight decrease from 42 the year before, according to a state report....
Labor agreement ends boycott of Taco Bell: Fast-food giant to increase payments to tomato pickers
Churches that endorsed a boycott against Taco Bell have declared victory after the fast-food giant agreed to increase payments to migrant tomato pickers in Florida....
Briefly noted
The bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in early March, acknowledged that they were too divided to offer “a definitive word of advice” on a recommendation that reg...