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We all have the freedom of money-speech, but only the rich get heard.
Last week's Supreme Court decision in McCutcheon v. FEC, which lifted aggregate limits on how much political donors can give, was not the most clear-cut conservative victory ever. Elected Democrats are officially unhappy, but their fundraisers won't mind the extra cash.
Yet the decision is clearly a setback for liberals—as distinct from Democratic party interests—and not just because other people don't tend to be rich people's top policy concern.
Invasion of the Dead, by Brian K. Blount
Brian Blount mounts a sweeping plea for bold preaching about the God who invades and routes death. Resurrection, he argues, transforms all of us “living dead” into witnesses.
Will the latest Catholic Mass translation get another overhaul?
c. 2014 Religion News Service...
After World Vision, evangelicals debate boundaries over sexuality
c. 2014 Religion News Service...
Evangelical support for Israel slipping?
American evangelicals have played a significant role in U.S. support for Israel; by some measures they are even more supportive than American Jews....
More say Good Book is not a God book
Bible films may be raking it in at the box office, but fewer people are reading the original and taking it seriously....
Chick-fil-A offers a new public face
Chick-fil-A is crossing the road. The iconic chicken chain, known for its conservative heritage as well as its savory eats, is recalibrating its moral and culinary compass....
Easter business
Frightened disciples—cowering behind a bolted door—emerged from hiding as fearless and fierce followers. What changed them was the conviction that their crucified friend was alive.
Appropriated in the U. S. of A.
The Sportsman Channel touts its newest series, Amazing America with Sarah Palin, in a three-minute video making the rounds on social media. The video, a recording by “the most patriotic band in America,” Madison Rising, contains rousing lyrics, while a variety of activities flash by in rapid succession: men fighting fires, men shooting guns, women shooting guns, men running with bulls, men riding down zip lines, cars racing, and Sarah Palin on a dogsled pulled by pink-booted sled dogs.
Learning leadership from my garden
A few nights ago we ate ratatouille. We sweated the onions over a low heat for 45 minutes. We added basil, garlic, and Italian parsley—all fresh from our garden here in New Zealand. Over time, we added the vegetables: pepper, eggplant, courgette, tomato. Finally, we mixed cheese and bread crumbs together.
The eggplant grew from seed (heirloom from Diggers Club) in the garden. In the growing, I’ve been challenged about leadership.
Reformed and antimodern
Some classic works on the origins of modernity give pride of place to Calvinism. D. G. Hart will have none of it.
Sunday, April 20, 2014 (Easter Sunday): Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Colossians 3:1-4
This Colossians reading is one of those distilled, cryptic passages that draws us into so much more than we can imagine. Such verses expand our capacity to wonder and give praise. They invite us into God’s mystery.
From fear to calm: Spiritual direction on stormy waters
These Gospel stories can seem so familiar. But sit with the disciples in the little wooden boat, and Jesus' power will render you speechless.
The textures of a place
Reading Edwidge Danticat’s novel Claire of the Sea Light is like swimming through a gentle tide in a body of water known for riptides. The feeling that something invisible, fierce, and irreparable is just under the surface never quite leaves the corner of the reader’s mind.
The story traces relational ties in Ville Rose, a small coastal village town in Haiti.
A little train town called Chicago
Looks like Vox is off to a pretty good start. Ezra Klein & Co.'s news & politics vertical is poised to do even more than Klein's past work already has to expand serious discussion of public policy, to take it outside the bubble of people who come to the conversation with specialized knowledge.
Though if Matthew Yglesias's first post is any indication, Vox may make a different time-honored mistake of national political journalism: taking for granted that D.C. is the center of the universe, and that this universe exists entirely along the Eastern Seaboard.
Critics find ‘Noah’ lacking in ethnic diversity
The new movie Noah has everything you’d expect in a biblical blockbuster: big Hollywood stars, extravagant special effects, an apocalyptic flood....
Wilderness venture: Toward a more honest sermon
Our hunger is for words that evoke our deepest emotions, that name the wilderness in which we live—but not alone.