Latest Articles
I Love You, Man
I got this problem. There’s this guy I want to be better friends with. We’ve been out with other people for drinks, talked at professional events and had a few laughs....
Books to start with
What book would you recommend to someone eager to learn more about Christianity, someone who is just coming alive to the faith and to the power of the community of faith—the church...
Rooted in relationship
Where once we lived in a vital relationship with the earth, now we obtain our daily bread by filling shopping carts and running a plastic card through a scanner....
On the shelf: Food Matters, by Mark Bittman
If Michael Pollan is the sustainable food movement's de facto spokesperson, Mark Bittman is its in-house cook....
God provides
William Sloane Coffin once noted that just as there is ultimately only one hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," there is also only one psalm, the 23rd....
AIG scapegoats: Collective culpability
A lot of outrage, including threats of physical violence, has been directed at executives of the American International Group and other financial-services firms....
Century Marks
First parishioner: Aides and friends of President Obama have been quietly visiting churches in Washington, D.C., to help the first family find a spiritual home. The Obamas are looking for a church whose beliefs match theirs and one that has a youth ministry suitable for their daughters and is active in helping the needy. Security logistics are also a factor (Boston Globe, March 22).
The rest of the story: Media coverage of the war in Gaza
For 23 days in December and January, Israel struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip while Hamas sent a barrage of unguided rockets and missiles to towns in southern Israel. In the end, 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were dead, with 4,000 Palestinians and dozens of Israelis wounded. Media coverage was intense, but American and Arab media covered the war in significantly different ways.
Blank stares: Who's listening to sermons?
A group of pastors had been brought together by the Episcopal Preaching Foundation to talk and share and practice preaching....
Briefly noted
President Obama’s scheduled May 17 commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame has sparked protests by some Catholics....
Gallup survey finds Muslims are younger, more racially diverse: A national portrait
Muslims in America attend worship services as frequently as Protestant Americans. Among the nation’s faith groups, they are the most racially diverse....
Top Vatican ethicist says abortion saved life of nine-year-old rape victim: Says doctors do not merit excommunication
The Vatican’s top bioethics official said the two Brazilian doctors who performed an abortion on a nine-year-old rape victim do not merit excommunication, since they acted to save her life....
Pope stirs condom debate; UCC unit urges condom distribution in churches: HIV/AIDS prevention
During a weeklong visit to Africa in March, Pope Benedict XVI told journalists accompanying him on the papal plane to Cameroon that making condoms widely available “increased the problem” of AIDS....
Senator lauds a move toward accountability: Chuck Grassley's investigation
The senator who has investigated six prominent charismatic ministries for questionable finances has praised one of them—Joyce Meyer Ministries—for joining the Evangelical Council for Financial Acco...
Study says faithful opt for aggressive treatment: Surprising results
Two years ago, Kevin Brumett was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was 29 and had never smoked. After an initial round of successful treatment, the cancer spread to his brain....
President: Deduction limit is fair, adds new revenue: Expects little impact on charitable giving
The White House’s budget proposal to reduce the tax deduction for charitable giving from 35 percent to 28 percent for wealthy givers “would equalize” the benefit common to all taxpayers who itemize...
Will Obama's plan to trim charitable tax deductions hurt religious groups? Religious groups may be spared general decline in giving: Religious groups may be spared general decline in giving
The White House’s proposed 2010 federal budget calls for reducing the deduction for charitable contributions for the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers....