Latest Articles
The Crack Between the Worlds: A Dancer's Memoir of Loss, Faith, and Family
At the age of ten, Maggie Kast took a dance class with a former member of the Martha Graham Dance Compa...
My Father Said Yes: A White Pastor in Little Rock School Integration
On September 4, 1957, nine African-American students walked through a seething mob to the front of Central Hi...
The White Ribbon
The films of Austrian director Michael Haneke offer no easy answers. Haneke presents the time, place, characters and backstory before eventually revealing a problem....
Eric Rohmer, 1920-2010
To those who frequented small, dingy art houses in the 1970s and 1980s, the death of Eric Rohmer in January meant that a film artist of the first rank has faded to black....
Command performance
When people get around to prioritizing Old Testament scholars of this generation who have made significant contributions to textual i...
A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation
In a time when many conflate Palestinians with Muslims, one rarely hears the voice of the indigenous Palestinian Christian communit...
Stories that speak for themselves
Recently I spent a week on retreat with my book club. It’s a smart and kind and diverse group of people....
How about "Justice of the Peace Billy" instead?
A few years ago, a pastor acquaintance of mine made headlines...
I statements: A preacher's testimony
I regretted to see in the January 2 New York Times that Peter Steinfels was writing his final “Beliefs” column. I’ve rarely missed a Steinfels column over the years....
Homegrown counterterrorism: Successful self-policing
Terrorism has a homegrown dimension. Many of the terrorist plots uncovered since 9/11 have involved U.S.-born or naturalized U.S. citizens. ...
Century Marks
Local bankers: Move Your Money is an online grassroots movement encouraging people to take their money out of banks that are “too big to fail.” It is appealing to people who are angry at big banks for predatory lending practices, for receiving government bailout money and for giving huge bonuses to their employees. Although some community banks have also failed, they typically are more conservative in the way they use their money and are often more connected to local businesses and needs (Move Your Money).
Briefly noted
The New Jersey state senate has voted down a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, prompting a promise from gay-rights advocates to take their campaign to the courts....
Jordan files complaint over Dead Sea Scrolls: Allegedly stolen during Six-Day War
Jordan has complained to a United Nations agency after Canada refused to seize a display of Dead Sea Scrolls at a recent exhibit in Toronto....
Non-Muslim religions harassed in Malaysia: Dispute over use of "Allah"
Places of worship belonging to religious minorities in Malaysia are continuing to be targeted in a dispute over the use of “Allah” by non-Islamic faiths....
Ecumenical outcry follows Coptic Christian killings: An attack in Egypt
The drive-by gunfire killing of six Coptic Christians in Egypt at their church on January 6, the eve of their Christmas celebration, has drawn widespread shock from the Vatican and church leaders i...