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The NFL's predictable bad day
The NFL gambled on fans’ willingness to endure the replacement refs. It was wrong—a good development for whatever ethical margin a football fan might claim.
Jordan tour: Forms of imperfect government
One of our Bedouin drivers in Wadi Rum also served us tea and dinner at the campsite and stayed there with us. Later he shared his nargile with me while we sat around the fire.
Our tour guide informed me that this young man’s grandfather is a member of Parliament.
Questing for Understanding, by David B. Burrell
Burrell’s memoir is driven by Jung’s observation that the story of our lives is the story of our times, and it is our task to see how that is the case.
Patriarchs of Babylon
In the ninth century, Timothy I was a global statesman. In the 20th, Raphael Bidawid led a tiny denomination in the paranoid Iraq of Saddam Hussein.
U.S. Copts, Muslims decry film
Coptic Christian leaders in the United States distanced themselves from an anti-Muslim film that has sparked protests in more than 20 countries and denounced the Copts who reportedly produced and p...
At Judson Church, Howard Moody was a social justice leader
During his long ministry at Judson Memorial Church in New York’s Greenwich Village, ex-marine Howard Moody led religious assaults on tough social issues of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s—openly aiding wo...
Jury finds 16 Amish guilty in beard-cutting attacks
Amish bishop Samuel Mullet has been convicted of federal hate crimes and conspiracy for exhorting followers to forcibly shear the hair and beards of those who opposed his breakaway Ohio sect....
For-profit Christian school is awarded a free campus
A for-profit Christian university in Arizona has won one of the education world’s most sought-after prizes: a free, historic, freshly renovated campus in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts....
Mormon blogger faces probe over comments on temple, not on Romney
A Mormon blogger who has written critical web essays about Mormon history, temple worship and contemporary issues—including essays about GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney—is facing church discip...
Americans overstate size of religious minorities
The typical American underestimates how many Protestants there are in the United States and vastly overestimates the size of religious minorities such as Mormons, Muslims and atheist/agnostics, acc...
Report says religion spurs African illegal ivory trade
Since the ban on international trade of ivory in 1989, the ivory black market has been on the rise, and a National Geographic investigation found that demand for religious art pieces carve...
Clergy sabbatical program transferred to seminary
A popular sabbatical program for clergy launched in 2000 by the Lilly Endowment philanthropic foundation has been transferred to Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, the foundation annou...
Weird monk jokes
I have lately been reading stories of the desert monastics, collected by the monk John Moschos in the seventh century. I don’t think I get it.
My pattern has been to feel slightly offended—sometimes even disgusted—by a story, and then walk away from it, wander around for awhile and finally realize that the story was probably a joke. In its own context, the main thing it elicited was probably laughter. But for me the humor is so strange, so wry, so unexpected that I don’t perceive it for hours.
Jordan tour: In the desert
Petra is Jordan’s most popular tourist attraction, and it’s in an area where many poor Bedouins live. So you’re never far from a vendor of some kind, though once you get into the park a ways their wares get a bit tamer. But neither Indiana Jones tote bags nor simple camel-bone beads can distract you from what you’re seeing in the ancient Nabatean city.
Constructive use of jealousy
I get jealous. I try not to, but I hope that I’ve also begun to recognize and constructively use the emotion. Here are some dos and don’ts that I practice to make sure that the little green monster doesn’t take over my life.
It’s All True, by Sylvie Lewis
This singer-songwriter with a breathy tenor-alto takes a successful chance on the opening track, “Dylan’s Arms.” As spare guitar meets lush, multilayered vocals, Lewis offers a starry-eyed ode to t...
The good grain: Restoring wild rice in the North
Wild rice is like maple syrup or morel mushrooms: producers need customers who know the real thing and are willing to pay more for it.
Jesus learned
I have been talking a lot lately about how Biblical inerrantists are forced to twist the Bible in order to defend their doctrine about the Bible....
Once again, the alleged Catholic vote
Molly Worthen's call for a stronger liberal Catholic voice in the public square is a good and thoughtful read. But it's hard to let this go by:
Allowing Republicans to claim the mantle of Catholicism might cost the Democrats the election. As commentators have noted, Catholics may be the nation’s most numerous swing voters.
Noise level
"Noise is not the most important problem in the world," Garret Keizer begins. But he makes a robust case for noise's far-reaching effects.