Latest Articles
A season of repentance: An open letter to United Methodists
A proposal: Let us stop fighting one another, for a season, about issues of sexuality, so that we can focus on what God is saying to the church about our complicity in the violence that is the deep...
Kerry cites faith, 'family values' The convention speech: The convention speech
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry of Massachusetts capped a political convention that saw Democrats emphasizing faith and moral language....
Forbes: 'God gap' is wrong distinction: "A trivialization conversation"
Calling the so-called “God gap” between Republicans and Democrats “a trivialization conversation,” New York clergyman James Forbes told an interfaith service in Boston during the Democratic convent...
Kerry endorses faith-based grants: Advisory group would tackle constitutional questions
Senator John Kerry, who carries Democratic Party hopes for the White House, said he supports government funding of faith-based initiatives as long as they respect the separation of church and state...
Democrats' new faith outreach director quits: Public positions under fire
After less than two weeks on the job, the Democratic Party’s first-ever director of religious outreach resigned suddenly after her public positions came under fire....
IRS nearly toothless, Falwell aide claims: Political endorsements continue
Jerry Falwell is misleading churches into thinking they can endorse political candidates, two Washington-based watchdog groups warned in complaints to federal agencies....
Harvard returns Arab leader's gift: Funds intended for Islamic studies
After more than a year of debate and negotiation, Harvard Divinity School has agreed to return a gift from a leader of the United Arab Emirates, at the Arab nation’s request....
New bishop Willimon displays puckish style: Hauerwas: "It's a sign we're not dead yet"
The outspoken dean of the Duke University Chapel, William H. Willimon, who once said “the greatest sin Christians can commit is boredom,” has been elected a bishop in the United Methodist Church....
Amish 'reality' show misleads, experts say: "More distortion than education"
If you were among the 5.4 million viewers who made the premiere of Amish in the City a smashing success, supporters of the widely misunderstood Christian group want you to know that the show...
Muslim leaders decry church attacks in Iraq: Car bombs targeted five churches
After the first-ever coordinated attacks on Iraq’s minority Christian population on the first Sunday in August, Muslim and church leaders alike condemned the car bombings, and observers wondered wh...
Briefly noted
The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would prohibit federal courts from ruling on the merits of a 1996 law that allowed states not to recognize gay marriages performed by ot...
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? Fifth in a series
In late 2003 President Bush said, in response to a reporter's question, that he believed Muslims and Christians "worship the same God." The remark sparked criticism from some Christians, who tho...
Teaching contempt: Neighborly alternatives
Everyone needs someone to tell her she has spinach in her teeth, preferably before she has spent 15 minutes wondering why her table companions are so taken with her smile....
Inside the control room: A roar of affirmation for civil liberties
In Control Room, a film on the Arab language television satellite network al-Jazeera, interviewer Abdullah Schleifer presses U.S....
Let's erudite: Verbification
"Sue them!” my wife joked. Harriet offered her succinct suggestion as we read a sentence in a review that appeared over my name....
Summoned: Luke 14:25-33; Philemon 1-21
Paul was in Rome, the epicenter of empire, the magnet for people on the lam such as fugitive slaves. He was a “prisoner of Christ Jesus” not only because the Messiah had captured his heart but also because he had boldly proclaimed the grace and peace he had found. Somehow, through the Christian grapevine, Onesimus found Paul and sought shelter with him. Now Onesimus is going back to his owner.
Guest list: Luke 14:1, 7-14; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
I got into trouble once. Big trouble. I was enjoying myself at a barbecue supper with several clergy in a small northern Kentucky town. When we ran out of some food items, I volunteered to drive my MG—with the top down, of course—to find a grocery store. I was on my way back to the barbecue when a local officer nailed me for speeding.
Liberalism after 9/11: E. J. Dionne on what's right about the left
For the past decade E. J. Dionne has written a column on politics for the Washington Post that has been syndicated to more than 90 other newspapers....
Call to arms
Conventional wisdom holds that a select group of World War I poets and writers, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen among them,...
No Regrets: A Ten-Step Program for Living in the Present and Leaving the Past Behind
Though I’m not a big fan of self-help books, I’m glad that I took the time to read Hamilton B...