Latest Articles
Tuesday digest
New today from the Century: Tammerie Day on George Zimmerman and the history of colonial Florida, Kathryn Reklis on Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing, more.
Much ado in Santa Monica
Joss Whedon's adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is an enchanting modern take on the 16th-century romance and a nearly perfect movie.
Prayer in the whirlwind
The answer that comes out of a tornado is not the kind of answer we want.
Marthas without gender
My grandmother died in 2005, on the eve of the feast of Saints Mary and Martha of Bethany. The next day I went to the weekday eucharist at St. James Cathedral in Chicago, and the story of Martha and her sister brought me instantly to tears. Like so many women of her generation (and not only hers), my grandmother was deeply identified with her hospitality and service. She was a lot like Martha, and I loved her for it.
I am more troubled now than I was then at the way this story is gendered in our reading.
Monday digest
New today from the Century: Crystal St. Marie Lewis on the Zimmerman verdict and the desire to escape, Rodney Clapp on prayer amid a whirlwind, more.
The Zimmerman verdict and the desire to escape
When I heard the words “not guilty" on Saturday, I closed my eyes and wished that I could escape the system we’ve built here in America.
Alone among friends
For my money, John’s is the only Gospel in which Jesus seems really lonely.
Andy Murray and what's changed
Rule Britannia! Finally the old country sits atop the tennis throne....
Friday digest
New today from the Century: Kat Banakis on being alone among friends, Tyler Day on Andy Murray and what's changed, more.
The Center Holds, by Jonathan Alter
Jonathan Alter continues the comprehensive chronicle of the Obama presidency he began with The Promise: President Obama, Year One....
What’s really killing the church
I asked an older English woman who left the church long ago why she now wants to come back. Her response made the color drain from my face.
Vatican’s new legal guide adds offenses for abuse, leaking documents
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Seen and unseen
There are things about this life of faith that I like to think I understand.
Bread: this is Christ's body. We break it, we share it, we become it....
Thursday digest
New today from the Century: Sam Wells on what's really killing the church, Martha-Lynn Corner on what's seen and what's unseen, more.
Nones against none-ism?
Last week Pew released some more data from its spring survey on the rise of the nones. They asked people if they thought the growing number of "people who are not religious" is good, bad or neutral for American society. One interesting finding: while most of the nones said neutral, nearly as many said "bad" as "good." Almost a fifth of the nones think the growth of the nones—of their own group—is bad for society.
Lots of people seem surprised by this finding.
In Praise of Messy Lives, by Katie Roiphe
In the introduction to this collection of essays, Katie Roiphe addresses for the first (and not the last) time the existence of her many detractors and thereby her own insecurity....
Spiritual cul-de-sac: How the church fails the divorced
Divorce is a time when we most need our brothers and sisters in faith. Yet churches and clergy often ignore divorcing people.
Conservatives say religious freedom is ‘under attack’ in military
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
The other side of religious liberty and same-sex marriage
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s marriage decisions, debates about the effects on religious groups have dominated the religious blogosphere. “Gay marriage fight now becomes a religious liberty fight,” claims the headline of one Washington Examiner column. Behind such headlines lies a far less univocal history, and no doubt a much more complicated present reaction among religious communities. From this perspective, the fight for marriage equality has always been deeply engaged in religion.