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These aren't the evangelicals you're looking for
A few years ago, I was invited by a Lutheran friend of mine to take part in a group of church planters. I knew these folk came from an evangelical background, and my shields went up....
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: Carolyne Call on how the church fails the divorced, Sarah Barringer Gordon on the other side of religious liberty and same-sex marriage, more.
Fleeing Herod, by James Cowan
James Cowan's book follows the Holy Family's path through Egypt. It is anchored in numerous conversations with monks, nuns, guides and fellow pilgrims.
No place for alms: A curb on panhandling
A new law in Durham makes standing in the highway median illegal. One night in March, six pastors broke the law by panhandling there.
Catholic hospitals at odds with bishops over birth control mandate
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Church of England aims for women bishops before 2016
The Church of England’s governing body reaffirmed its commitment to consecrate women bishops with the aim of reaching final approval on the issue no late...
Sunday, July 21, 2013: Amos 8:1-12; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42
On a busy day recently I pulled into a gas station and filled up my car’s gasoline tank....
Making sense of Egypt's popular "coup"
Many Egyptian Christians see the military's intervention as salvation. Is this wise? Do they have a choice?
The worship wars, narrowly drawn
I like Keith Getty's "In Christ Alone." I think the PCUSA hymnal committee probably made the right call on the whole "wrath of God was satisfied" business, but still: it's a good song for congregational use, accessible but with some theological meat.
It's a little bizarre, however, to present "In Christ Alone" and Getty's other songs as one side of a two-sided debate over church music, as NPR does here.
Tuesday digest
New today from the Century: panhandlers' rights in Durham, making sense of the situation in Egypt, more.
Rights and wrongs
Voter suppression may be a less obvious denial of equality than refusing to issue a marriage license, but it is no less significant.
Pope Francis decries ‘globalization of indifference’
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In his first official trip outside Rome since his election, Pope Francis visited the tiny island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily on Monday (July 8), hoping to sho...
Highlights from Pope Francis’ first encyclical
c. 2013 Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Less than four months after being elected, Pope Francis published his first encyclical on Friday (July 5)....
Joel Hunter pays a price for his political activism
There’s a price to pay for becoming the voice of moderate conservatism and coalition politics. Even more so for refusing to march in lockstep with the Republican Party....
Africans irked by Obama’s call to treat gays fairly
Religious leaders in Africa strongly rebuked President Obama’s call to decriminalize homosexuality, suggesting it’s the reason why he received a less-than-warm welcome during a recent trip to the c...
Excruciating evangelism
I saw the stranger across the crowded room. My eyes were drawn to him like a dog to a raw steak. He looked lonely. I could tell that he needed a friend. I smiled broadly at him. He smiled back, and that was my cue.
Monday digest
New today from the Century: The Supreme Court and equality, Methodists who might go to heaven, more.
Our Augustine
This fall, C. S. Lewis's memorial stone will be unveiled in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey. Poets' Corner couldn't ask for a better tour guide.
The Irish nones
For centuries Ireland was synonymous with staunch Catholic piety. Now it seems to be undergoing a process of secularization as rapid as any in history.