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c. 2013 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) In nearly two hours of arguments on Wednesday (March 27), the Supreme Court heard many of the expected cases for and against recognizing gay marriage: that refusing to do so is blatant discrimination, that gay marriage is a social experiment that the court should not preempt, that Washington has no role in state marriage laws.

Americans have always believed that the devil likes to play politics. Colonial leader Henry Hugh Brackenridge claimed in 1778 that Satan inspired George III’s allegedly ruthless policy toward the colonies. Two decades later, Federalists claimed that the nascent Democratic Party had put forward the antichrist as a presidential candidate in the form of Thomas Jefferson. Later Jedidiah Morse, inventor of Morse code and end-times enthusiast, explained to audiences the Devil’s role in Jeffersonianism. He even claimed to have a list of Democrats who belonged to the Illuminati (though like Joe McCarthy, Morse never showed anyone his proof). The History Channel miniseries The Bible has been alleged to continue this trend.

Dan Schultz raises a good question. Why would NPR give Focus on the Family's Jim Daly a free pass on conflating religious freedom with his desire to impose his own religious beliefs on the broader culture? I don't know, but it probably doesn't hurt that Daly's a whole lot nicer than James Dobson ever was.

New today from the Century: The editors on military spending, Scott Poole on The Bible and Satan, more.

Most pastors take a break after Holy Week and Easter Day. But I've always felt that the weeks after Easter are the most important of the year.

c. 2013 Religion News Service SPOKANE, Wash. (RNS) Karen Wanjico had no choice....

Disobedience came hard for a nice girl like me. I was taught to respect authority, which I did, despite bumper stickers urging us to question it....

Last week in my Christian Ethics course we talked about love. God’s love. Human love. Love and sexuality. Loving the whole of God’s creation.

New today from the Century: John Buchanan on the pastoral importance of Eastertide, Debra Dean Murphy on Steubenville, more.

A couple of brief follow-ups to both my post on eucharistic witness on gun control and my article in the latest issue of the magazine.

I see the monastery sign and drive past. I know two monks there, and I've been grabbing at every possible lead. But I'm too ashamed to turn in.

c. 2013 Religion News Service...

Each of the four Gospels’ depictions of the first encounter with the resurrected Christ suggests a different lens for perceiving the risen one. In Matthew, Christ’s resurrection looks like a theophany—earthquake and blazing light—and Christ appears suddenly and vividly to disciples on the run and on the mountain. In Luke, the risen Christ is first encountered as a peripatetic teacher and finally recognized in the breaking of bread. Mark apparently included no straightforward account of the risen Christ at all. And in the Gospel of John, Christ rises from the ground in a springtime garden.

Who can deny that the heart of marriage is the love and commitment between the partners? Can you?...

New today from the Century: Suzanne Guthrie on finding peace at a monastery, Janet Edwards on the Supreme Court and same-sex marriage, more.

Technology is changing the nature of our selves. Yet, when I travel among different religious communities, many leaders focus on whether they ought to be on Facebook or not. I'm worried that our theological imaginations have not kept pace with our technological developments and I hope that in the decades to come, we can begin reflecting theologically on how our identities evolve. 

Charles Duhigg's book will remind readers of Malcolm Gladwell's best work. It represents the best "popular brain science" genre can offer.

Multitasking is marked by a sustained sense of urgency in a world mediated by communication devices. Puttering is something different.

c. 2013 Religion News Service...

Matt Yglesias is right that public policy must deal with the broad abstractions of the common good, not just with issues that affect lawmakers personally. And Anne Thériault is certainly right that a woman's value, dignity and rights are not contingent on who cares about her personally. Still, both posts seem too dismissive of the role personal relationships play in our formation, our view of the world, our very personhood.