Latest Articles
Justin Welby confirmed as new Archbishop of Canterbury
LONDON (RNS) Justin Welby was confirmed Monday (Feb. 4) as the new archbishop of Canterbury at a centuries-old service at St....
Vatican signals options for protecting gay couples
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A high-ranking Vatican official on Monday (Feb....
Glory goes forth
For this Transfiguration Sunday, the preacher faces at least two temptations.
The first is to move too quickly to the pastoral and personal dimensions of these texts, to consider how we, too, are transfigured by God’s love, glory and grace. And the epistle lesson does bring this theme up. But Exodus and Luke invite us to explore the nature of God’s glory itself, and it’s rewarding to focus first on these rich texts.
Newtown, Noah Pozner and a world reborn
Some of my Facebook friends have been posting beautiful, excruciating articles about the loss of Noah Pozner, the youngest victim of Newtown. He was a twin. He was a darling child. And his family has been thoughtful, yet unflinching, in their mourning of him.
You can read the articles here and here—please be warned that they are wrenching. You may forget to breathe.
Monday digest
New today from the Century: Will Willimon on the goal of seminary, Maryann McKibben Dana on Newton victim Noah Pozner, more.
The Eloquence of Grace, edited by James M. Childs Jr. and Richard Lischer
Sittler (1904–1987) was a renowned preacher, teacher and theological conversation partner, but his published writings are rather slim. The problem with this legacy, as Martin E....
Top-down reform: Colleen McDannell on Vatican II
"Parish priests had a lot of control over the speed at which things changed. Interestingly enough, the parishioners had no say over it."
Ring the bell
What does it take to replace a culture that tolerates violence against women with one that insists on respect? According to Breakthrough, an organization based in the U.S. and India, a key element is enlisting men to actively enforce nonviolent, respectful norms.
A couple years ago, the group's Bell Bajao (Hindi for "Ring the Bell") project produced some amazing PSA videos in India.
Nephilim and relevance
One of the oddest bits of Genesis is this from chapter 6:
When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterwards—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.
What on earth—or heaven for that matter—is this all about?
Modeling agency helps demure Muslims keep it 'Underwraps'
Ever since she was a little girl, Savannah Uqdah longed to pose for pictures and strut down a runway with flashbulbs bursting....
At halftime, a religious alternative to Beyonce
Super Bowl halftime shows often burn more vivid images into the American conscience than the most-watched football game of the year, and can claim millions more viewers....
Renowned journalist throws the book at Scientology
After winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for his expose of al-Qaida, journalist Lawrence Wright turned his eye toward another secretive and controversial religious movement....
Bangor Seminary ending degree programs
Bangor Theological Seminary plans to give degrees to about 45 students this spring—a large graduating class for a school that had only 13 graduates the year before....
Suit opposes tax credits that fund religious schools
Three civil liberties organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging New Hampshire’s new school-choice bill which provides scholarships funded by tax credits for underprivileged students to attend ...
Catholic, Reformed agree on approach to baptism
Leaders of Catholic and Reformed churches have signed an agreement to recognize each other’s sacraments of baptism—a public step toward unity among groups that are often divided by doctrine....
Violence comes to Seydnaya
Fadia is Syrian, 25 and very very lucky: she managed to escape the country and the war....
"How many people have you brought to Christ?"
At a recent clergy gathering, one of the other preachers said that the problem with the church is that we aren’t asking the right questions....
China’s homegrown Protestants
According to Lian Xi, radical Protestantism flourished in 20th-century China partly by distancing itself from the Western missionary establishment.
Vengeance is mine
Django Unchained is an irreverent, profound and problematic exploration of America's original sin—and the power of a revenge fantasy.
The Senate's modest milestone
The good news: the U.S. will now have the highest number of African-American senators ever.
The bad news: that number is two. Out of 100.