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Advent's "why"
“I’m a Christian,” said my oldest daughter, seven-year-old Miriam.
“Really?” I replied. “So what makes you believe that you are a Christian?”
“Because I love God, God loves me, and I know Jesus came back to life after dying on the cross.”
Monday digest
New today from the Century: Reflecting back on election-day communion, a Catholic scholar on Peter Singer, more.
Peter Singer and Christian Ethics, by Charles C. Camosy
Charles Camosy's task is audacious: as a Catholic moral theologian, he thoughtfully engages the work of the controversial and often condemned ethicist Peter Singer.
Preaching lessons at a fundamentalist Bible school
There is a particular authority that comes from privilege. When a white man steps into the place where he belongs, he has an internal power with which he was born. He is entitled. Like royalty, he sits on the throne naturally, because that place is caught in his blood. But an entirely different power emerges from women who have been told that they are not allowed to speak in church—and suddenly rise behind the pulpit. Something flares up from deep inside of them, and when they have a safe space, the words can come out of them with force and fury.
Discomfort food
The Gideon Bible treats the Bible as comfort food. But a diet of the Bible consists of conflict and confrontation.
It's lights out for Kathie Lee Gifford's 'Scandalous' Broadway show
NEW YORK (RNS) In the end, even Kathie Lee Gifford couldn't save the Broadway musical about a woman who saved souls....
Some Jews can't get jazzed over Hanukkah
Ayelet Waldman isn't shy about sharing her true feelings about the upcoming Jewish festival of lights....
The sacred ran through jazz legend Dave Brubeck's music
"I approached the composition as a prayer," jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck said of his "To Hope!...
Polls show views on gays and lesbians shifting fast
In the wake of historic victories for gay rights supporters in last month's elections, a pair of USA Today/Gallup Polls find growing acceptance among Americans toward gay men and lesbians – and soa...
Mormon website promotes gentler tone toward gays
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints isn't changing its tune about homosexuality, but it has launched a new website to alter the tone....
What makes it worthwhile
Recently I went home early, coming down with a cold, feeling low, sore throat, all those things....
"What is a suffragette without a suffering household?"
In case you missed these when they made the rounds right after the election, the University of Northern Iowa's collection of women's suffrage postcards has some great examples (via Gwen Sharp) of postcards used as anti-suffrage propaganda. A number of them rely on the specter of men left to care for a household while their wives are off voting in luxury.
Friday digest
New today from the Century: Biblical discomfort food, what makes ministry worthwhile, more.
The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, edited by Isabel Best
These sermons, selected and introduced by Isabel Best, range in time from Bonhoeffer's pastoral tenure in Barcelona to a few months after the start of World War II.
Pope Benedict XVI joins Twitter, plans mobile app
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican unveiled Pope Benedict XVI's Twitter account on Monday (Dec. 3) as it announced a series of new initiatives aimed at raising the church's online profile....
Poll: Most Americans say employers should cover contraception
Most Americans say that employers – even religious ones – should provide birth control coverage to their employees, according to a survey released on Monday (Dec. 3)....
Survey: A year after Mass changes, Catholics adapt and accept
Nothing can rile churchgoers more than tweaking the liturgy, so it was no surprise that sharp protests accompanied the introduction of a new translation of the Catholic Mass last year....
Beyond Twitter: The Vatican's other communications revolution
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI launched his own Twitter feed this week (Dec....
Commission suggests ways to keep closer eye on lavish ministries
A special commission created by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has called for clearer IRS guidance and greater involvement among donors to address "outliers" among congregatio...