Latest Articles
Race: A Theological Account
J. Kameron Carter’s book on race was published in the auspicious year of 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States....
A missing argument
The author, who teaches preaching and worship at Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Indiana, brings a preacher’s s...
Frost/Nixon
Working at the top of his game as both a filmmaker and an actor’s director, Ron Howard has converted one of the most intriguing media events of the late 1970s—David Frost’s TV interviews with Richa...
Whipping US into shape?
Our gospel lesson comes just after the story of Jesus' first "sign": turning the gallons of water intended for purification rites ...
Life lost and found
It always takes time to get my bearings when I jump into a week's lectionary texts, because I'm wading into a story that's already underway....
Giving up blogging for Lent
I've decided to give up blogging for Lent this year. Not blogs themselves so much as "blogging"—let me explain....
The glory of the mundane: Remembering John Updike
John Updike, who died January 27 at age 76, was one of the literary giants of our time....
Detention dilemma: Suggestions for Guantánamo
President Obama took a crucial step toward reestablishing the nation’s moral bearings with his executive order outlawing torture (see new...
Century Marks
What Abe might say: Lincoln biographer Ronald C. White Jr. imagines what counsel Lincoln might give President Obama: Write your own speeches, especially the major ones. Take time for contemplation and reflection amidst the pressures of the office. Don’t rush into solutions for the formidable problems. Value ambiguity, the ability to see reality in its complexity—that is a sign of humility, not weakness (Wilson Quarterly, Winter).
F is for friendship: A theological dictionary
Fifty years ago, when a generation of seminarians was cutting its theological fangs, friendship was a disdained term....
Church leaders welcome new Orthodox patriarch: Patriarch Kirill I
Ecumenical leaders have welcomed the election of Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad as the 16th patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia and expressed hopes of greater church unity under ...
Religion more divisive than race, say Brits: A government-sponsored opinion poll
A government-sponsored opinion poll in Britain has found that religion has displaced race as the most divisive issue facing the nation....
New allegations surface against Haggard: Confidential settlement revealed
The pastor of a Colorado Springs megachurch who succeeded its disgraced founding pastor, Ted Hag gard, revealed to congregants January 25 that the church’s insurance company arranged a confidential...
Polygamy case may test limits of Canadian same-sex marriage law: Broad definitions of marriage
A landmark court case will test whether Canada’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage also justifies the practice of polygamy....
Jewish groups dismayed over papal decision on 'Holocaust denier' Vatican restores Society of Saint Pius X: Vatican restores Society of Saint Pius X
American and British Jewish groups say they are shocked by a decision of Pope Benedict XVI to overturn the excommunication of a British bishop who has said the number of Jews killed during the Holo...
Obama restores funds for overseas family planners: The Mexico City policy
Antiabortion religious leaders are criticizing President Obama’s decision to restore federal funding of international groups that provide abortions or information about the procedure....
McCurry says president's faith outreach needed now as much as ever: An opportunity to mobilize across the theological spectrum
Religious Democrats were “hibernating” until the 2008 election season, when the party’s candidates—including Barack Obama—made religion central to their campaigns, according to former White House p...
Historic inaugural events feature religious mixture: An ecumenical tone
The inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States was solemnized over four days in January in Washington with prayers by a diverse group of clergy and admonitions from the new Whit...