Latest Articles
Intolerance in India
Religious freedom has
become a potent rallying cry. That is an excellent development—provided
we avoid turning the issue into a partisan weapon in the confrontation
between Christianity and Islam.
No shows: The decline in worship attendance
Many people assume that there has been a steady decline in worship
attendance for all the mainline denominations since the mid-1960s—the
era when most of them began to see their memberships decline. But
trends in attendance have actually followed their own
patterns.
FBI erred in targeting interfaith center
A Department of Justice inspector concluded that the FBI improperly
targeted for surveillance some U.S. advocacy organizations, including...
Nature’s Second Chance, by Steven I. Apfelbaum
Back in the '70s when Steven Apfelbaum told his mom he was
studying for a degree in ecology, his mother didn't know what to think. Unable...
A review of The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse
"No whining!" the plaque on my study wall all but shouts. Steven D.
Smith does not whine as he invades a territory frequented by whiners.
Mormons, Jews reach pact on baptisms for the dead
Jewish and Mormon officials have announced that church policies preventing the posthumous baptizing of Holocaust victims have reduced tensions between them....
City prayers
Carlyle Marney said that each of us is like a house, with a
living room where we entertain and a dark basement where we store the
trash. And each house has a balcony with all the people
who have influenced and inspired us. The way to
celebrate All Saints Day, he said, is to step out onto the front lawn
and salute the people on your balcony. One of my balcony people
died recently.
No secret plan: Why you don’t have to ‘find’ God’s will for your life
The commandments and promises of God are easy to find: they're right there in the Bible. But my students have something else in mind when they refer to "God's will," though it's not easy to say what.
God bless America's pastime
"Please stand and take off your hats for the singing of 'God
Bless America.'" That's how the announcer introduced the seventh inning stretch...
Mapmakers for God
Three new books give fresh insights into the complicated history of
evangelical Zionism. Together they present a compelling argument that
the founding fathers of the modern state of Israel were not just
Theodor Herzl and his Zionist Congress, but American and British
evangelicals who exercised tremendous political and economic power in
the 19th century—power that modern-day evangelicals like Hagee and his
allies can only dream of.
Judge dismisses ministers’ suit against hate-crimes law
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Michigan man and three Michigan ministers challenging the constitutionality of a federal hate-crimes law enacted last October....
When the shooting stops: Criteria for a just peace
Those who have suffered through war are in special need of God's peace and justice, of reconciliation and restoration. After the smoke clears, Christians must work to foster and promote a just peace.
Unfinished business
So was the Iraq war worth it? Sixty percent of Americans say no. The claims that originally bolstered the resort to war—that Saddam Hussein's regime threatened the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction and was aligned with al-Qaeda terrorists—were discredited early in the war.
Pope's Britain visit gets some acclaim after rocky start
London, 20 September (ENI)--Pope Benedict XVI completed a successful State visit to England and Scotland despite opposition from secularists and those who accuse him of intransigence on the issue o...
The gift of enough
Before my Great Aunt Esther died, she lived in downtown Minneapolis in poverty. Oddly, this is not embarrassing to my proper, upper-middle-class, Christian family....
What do I have to believe to be a Christian?
“What do I have to believe to be a Christian?” If you have been part of a church for any amount of time or spent even a few minutes surfing Christian blogs or church websites, this is a question you will encounter ad nauseam. The question itself is loaded, since it assumes one has to believe something.
The Kids Are All Right
The Kids Are All Right has been on a roll since its premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It is directed (and co-written) by Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon),
a filmmaker who favors stories about characters who initiate change.
Sometimes this change is intentional, other times inadvertent, but by
the end the status quo is reshaped.
Pope talks of freedom to convert in 'multicultural' Britain talk
London, 17 September (ENI)--Pope Benedict XVI, on a visit to Britain, has reached out to leaders of other faiths, saying the Roman Catholic Church wants to build bridges of friendship but also insi...
Values voters see common cause, if not agenda, with tea party
WASHINGTON (RNS) With its emphasis on lower taxes and smaller
government, the "tea party" movement hasn't spent a lot of time on the...