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Lines for Easter: The Christian news
A good friend and a favorite teacher in the church I served in Ohio was Walter Bouman, professor of theology at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus. We made him an honorary Presbyterian....
Coexistence: What Rowan Williams meant
Summarizing for a TV reporter the point of a long, technical address to the Royal Courts of Justice on the relationship between religious communities and the British judicial system, the archbishop...
Century Marks
Say a prayer for java: It is not so unusual that Catholic authorities in Croatia have opened a coffee shop. What is unique is that their customers can pay for their caffeine fix with prayers. The café in Zagreb charges four “Our Fathers” for a cappuccino and five “Hail Marys” for a Coca-Cola, the most expensive item on the menu (The Week, February 22).
In search of common ground: Rachel Laser of 'Third Way'
Rachel Laser is senior policy adviser at Third Way, a “nonpartisan strategy center for progressives” based in Washington, D.C., that seeks to locate mid...
Something like forgiveness: Healing in Northern Ireland
There is a saying, “The English never remember, the Irish never forget.” The more sober truth is that everyone remembers and forgets selectively....
All that jazz: A disputed approach to outreach
“How do we do effective evangelism? All our ‘outreach’ events are just another excuse for fellowship!” Our new associate pastor looked around at the outreach committee, but nobody answered him. He pressed his point. “I mean, how do we actually reach nonbelievers, not just believers?” Eventually a discussion got under way, and finally one idea stuck. Our town was known as a “jazz town,” with a couple of jazz venues that were always crowded. We hatched the idea of Jazz Night. We’d hire a name-brand jazz artist to play at the church, convert the sanctuary into a coffee shop atmosphere, put church brochures on the tables, be ready to greet people and then “let it rip.” What could go wrong?
Briefly noted
The decision by 17 Danish newspapers to reprint a controversial cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad that caused rioting worldwide in early 2006 was condemned by the Washington-based Insti...
Benny Hinn submits records in Senate probe: Three ministries continue to resist Grassley's request
After several weeks of delay, televangelist Benny Hinn has submitted a “significant amount” of financial material to a Senate committee that is investigating the finances of six prominent ministrie...
Oxford gets $4 million to study belief in God: John Templeton Foundation funds project
Researchers at Oxford University have been given nearly $4 million to investigate the origins of belief in God. The money comes from the John Templeton Foundation, a U.S....
World Council of Churches to seek new chief after Kobia declines second term: Sudden criticism of the general secretary
The World Council of Churches, suddenly faced with criticisms of its general secretary, Samuel Kobia, who decided not to seek another five-year term, is searching for a new executive to take over t...
IRS probes appearance by Obama at UCC convention: UCC president confident no violations occurred
The Internal Revenue Service has notified the United Church of Christ that it has opened an investigation into possible “political activities” connected with Senator Barack Obama’s speech at the de...
Midwest is 'microcosm of American religion' Closely matches overall religious profile of U.S.: Closely matches overall religious profile of U.S.
New England is heavily Catholic, the South is predominantly evangelical, the West Coast has the highest proportion of religiously unaffiliated folks....
NFL yields to churches on Super Bowl viewing: Reverses ban on widescreen TVs
The National Football League will now allow churches to air live showings of the Super Bowl on a screen of any size, reversing a previous ban on widescreen TVs....
U.S. religious landscape in dynamic flux: Protestants losing majority status
A massive new study of the American religious landscape shows that Protestants are losing their majority share of the nation’s population and that the country’s broad religious diversity is accompa...
SMU agrees to house Bush library, policy institute; opponents vow to fight: Ground breaking expected next year
Southern Methodist University trustees have officially agreed to house the George W....
Presbyterian court nixes gay compromise: No exceptions to fidelity/chastity standard
At the last biennial Presbyterian General Assembly, many gay-rights supporters along with many conservatives weary of decades-old fights approved a delicate compromise that kept the ordination stan...
Rights and wrongs: An interview with Nicholas Wolterstorff
The Christian philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff has pursued a broad range of interests, including political philosophy, aesthetics, metaphysics and the philosophy of religio...
Of two minds: Interpretive charity
We are used to having opposable thumbs. They enable our hands to do things that are impossible for other creatures: write, thread needles, paint, sculpt, perform intricate surgical procedures....
The unasked question: What's missing from the debates
By mid-March, Democratic presidential candidates will have participated in 20 debates, while the Republican candidates will have debated 21 times....