Latest Articles
God’s Hotel, by Victoria Sweet
Laguna Honda sounds like a car, but it’s a hospital. It’s an almshouse in San Francisco, a place of refuge for several thousand people....
The art of power
Both Thomas Jefferson and Lyndon Johnson were vastly talented and deeply flawed. And both understood power.
Former National Council of Churches leader Bob Edgar dead at 69
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
The moral contours of our new Gilded Age
When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio announced his papal name, he stoked hopes for a season of reform in the spirit of St. Francis. In the weeks since, the Argentinian pontiff, who was shaped in part by his experiences in Buenos Aires’ villas miserias, has not disappointed.
Pope Francis has garnered headlines with his simplicity, as well as with his calls for a “Church for the poor.” The surprise his actions have met reflects, among other things, this: that when it comes to the matter of the haves and have nots, Christians these days tend not to rock the boat.
The people who died making my clothes
When I’m buying food, I generally prioritize quality and ethical sourcing over thrift....
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: John Buchanan on presidents and power, Shirley Showalter reviews Sonia Sotomayor, more.
The Fall of the House of Dixie, by Bruce Levine
Bruce Levine begins this compelling book with a prologue recounting Edgar Allan Poe’s famous story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” setting up an elaborate metaphor for the demise of antebellum so...
My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor
Celebrity memoirs often appeal to readers’ basest motives. They hope to discover some secret formula for success. Or they want to know whether the author took revenge on enemies or intimates....
U.S. Christians rally around home-schooling family facing deportation
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Holy digital: The Bible on iPad
I switched to a digital Bible for ease and versatility. But I gave something up: a sense of the sweeping history of God's engagement with God's people.
Take & read: Spring books
Our spring books issue includes the following annotated lists of new titles: Old Testament, theology and ethics.
Colm Toibin's "Testament of Mary" brings Jesus' mother down to earth
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Boy Scouts proposal displeases religious leaders on both sides
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
Ascension of the Lord, May 9, 2013: Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53
What is it those angels invite us to see on the earth from the Mount of Olives?
Last week's larger, more deadly explosion
Yesterday I heard the NPR news desk transition from its top story, Boston, to the latest from West, Texas. Here's how they did it: "Let's check in on another major story that dominated our attention last week."
That's not quite how I remember it.
Tuesday digest
New today from the Century: Richard Kauffman on reading the Bible on his iPad, Stanley Hauerwas reviews David Gushee, more.
The Myth of Persecution, by Candida Moss
Candida Moss unravels a common misperception: that Christianity faced murderous government-sanctioned persecution for its first three centuries, a period in which “the blood of the martyrs” supplie...
The Sacredness of Human Life, by David P. Gushee
David Gushee’s attempt to define and defend the concept of the sacredness of life is a welcome reminder of why it is so important that we not take for granted the protections that surround our live...