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Final verses: John Updike's last words
John Updike’s death in January left a giant hole in my reading life. He chronicled American culture during my lifetime in a way that I always found lucid and smart....
Care at the end: Complementary goals
After rumors circulated that President Obama’s health-care reform would institute “death panels” for the elderly, Congress quickly abandoned any effort to address end-of-life issues in health-care ...
Century Marks
Left behind: An atheistic group in the United Kingdom claims to be serious about its offer to provide care for pets left behind by Christians when they are taken by the rapture. For a small donation the group promises to make sure pets are fed and cared for (postrapturepetcare.com).
The other Jewish lobby: J Street's Isaac Luria
Just over a year old, J Street is a lobbying organization in Washington that describes itself as “pro-Israel, pro-peace.” It aims to offer an alternative persp...
Briefly noted
Members of Westboro Baptist Church, the antigay church in Topeka, Kansas, that protests military funerals, won a court victory September 24 when a federal appeals court overturned a $5 milli...
Evangelical group endorses 'fair' immigration reform: The National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals has endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, saying new policies should reflect “biblical grace to the stranger.”...
Nearly a quarter on Earth are Muslim, study says: About two-thirds in Asia
Amid widely different estimates of the size of the world’s Muslim population, a new demographic study has determined that followers of Islam represent nearly a quarter of the world’s current popula...
Poll shows decline in support for abortion: More say reducing abortions a good idea
Support for abortion is declining across the country, with Americans now evenly divided on whether it should be legal, a new Pew study shows....
High court declines to hear two church cases: An Episcopal dispute and a Catholic scandal
On the opening day of the U.S....
Churches: Human failures caused Manila floods: More than 240 died in metro Manila
Philippine church leaders have blamed “man’s sins” of neglect as the cause of massive floods in September following a tropical storm that claimed more than 240 lives and adversely affected almost 2...
Black Pentecostal church backs health-care reform, including public option: Church of God in Christ
The presiding bishop of the historically black Church of God in Christ, one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the U.S., has announced that its leadership supports the White House healthca...
'Justification' pact marked with eye on new divisions: An ecumenical milestone
With embraces, hymns and common prayer, Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist leaders recalled joyfully the pact made a decade ago that ended a centuries-old division over a key church doctrine....
Some Lutherans consider cutting ELCA ties: After the ELCA decision on gay clergy
A group of Lutherans upset over the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s recent decision to allow qualified noncelibate gays to serve as clergy voted to create a freestanding synod and to study...
Sermon in stone: A baptismal font, centuries old
I went to Lübeck, Germany, this summer to explore my recently discovered Jewish roots....
Mass appeal in Brazil: Catching up with the Pentecostals
At first glimpse, Marcelo Rossi is a textbook example of the pastor as showman. A handsome, stylish man in his early forties, he leads a flourishing São Paulo congregation legendary for its music....
Reluctant pilgrim: A visit to the Jordan
Since ancient times, travelers have journeyed to sites of religious significance in order to deepen their faith. But I’ve never been much of a pilgrim....
Turning points
Changes of mind aren’t superficial or easy things. Mine have usually come as forced exits from the comfort of myself to somewhere more painful.