John Dart
Is the Tower of Babel wobbling? A new view of the tower: A new view of the tower
The unfinished Tower of Babel has stood for centuries in art, literature and biblical commentaries as an outrageous, heaven-reaching challenge to the God of Genesis, who responded by scrambling the...
Background check: Churches respond to safety concerns
I’m still amazed,” declared Mary Alice Gran, the soft-spoken national director of children’s ministries for the United Methodist Church, based in Nashville....
Family reunion: Christian Churches Together
The multidenominational Christian Churches Together in the USA has just about got it together—enough at least for a small celebration....
Foundations, other donors make NCC healthy if not wealthy: Social justice and environmental work supported
Bob Edgar said he was hired seven years ago as the top executive of the financially bleeding National Council of Churches to do three things: Raise money, raise money and raise money.
...A healing president and devoted Episcopalian: Ford's "care-filled ministry" gratefully recognized
Former President Gerald R....
The rise and fall of Protestant magazines: The Christian Century and Sojourners remain strong
“It's never been easy to make ends meet while putting out a progressive Christian publication. But in an ironic twist, a re-energized religious left may be making a tough task even harder. . . ....
Templeton Foundation fights ID tag: "Supporting Science" is new motto
The Templeton Foundation has often described its principal grant-making interests using the expression “science and religion.” “No more,” says Pamela Thompson, Templeton’s vice president for commun...
Two-year 'recovery' for charismatic pastor: Haggard needs time for healing and wholeness
In the aftermath of Ted Haggard’s sexual immorality scandal, analysts may wonder how much the misdeeds harmed the evangelical–White House alliance or the National Association of Evangelicals, which...
Episcopal membership loss 'precipitous' Homosexuality issues fueling departures: Homosexuality issues fueling departures
After a period of modest declines and gains, the Episcopal Church has suffered a net loss of nearly 115,000 members over the past three years—with homosexuality issues fueling the departures.
...Debunking some Pentecostal stereotypes: Successful in meeting needs of the poor worldwide
Pentecostalism and related “Spirit-filled movements” are rightly seen as a hard-driving engine fueling the global spread of Christianity, but their adherents are often wrongly seen as apolitical, o...
Kerry belatedly speaks of faith: Joins other Democrats in describing impact on political visions
John Kerry, reticent about his religious beliefs during his losing 2004 presidential campaign against George W....
Democrats seen as failing in outreach: Ethicist says Dems should focus on compassion
After varied efforts by Democratic leaders to convince mainstream churchgoers that they share common moral values, a Baptist ethicist has suggested that the Democrats focus instead on core biblical...
Taking God to the mat: The biblical world of pro wrestling
The lurid and violent world of World Wrestling Entertainment, with an audience of 50 million worldwide, includes microphone-grabbing diatribes by rival wrestlers, “candid” camera shots from the locker rooms, and the ringside connivance of wrestlers’ girlfriends. This blue-collar opera also draws on biblical images and themes. Hugh S. Pyper, senior lecturer in biblical studies, says the Bible provides “a ready set of imagery . . . of power, destruction, revenge and judgment. . . . I cannot now read the book of Judges without casting the characters in a WWE extravaganza.”
A pioneer figure in church-state rulings: Woman who filed landmark lawsuit in 1945 dies
When Justice Hugo Black wrote in 1948 for the majority on the U.S....
Church voice on war measured, or muffled? Sparse news attention for statements on reconciliation: Sparse news attention for statements on reconciliation
As bombs and rockets rained from the skies in Lebanon and Israel, the American presidents of international Lutheran and Reformed fellowships joined with the World Council of Churches to plead for a...
Presbyterian compromise: Ordaining gay clergy is a local option
At the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly in June, delegates agreed to a delicate compromise on the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy, an issue that has torn the denomination for nearly three decades.>Episcopalians seek compromise to avoid schism.>Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exhorts Southern Baptists to support the United States in spreading freedom.>Christian Reformed urge churches to raise moral questions about preemptive military actions.For detailed coverage on these denominational conventions, visit our news page.
Naming names: PCUSA eyes "third way" on homosexuality
“I have become profoundly disenchanted with our General Assembly process . . . the unsatisfactory way we were dealing with difficult and complex theological issues . . ....
Paul almighty: A novel portrayal of an infamous figure
The long-lost apocryphal Gospel of Judas, published with Easter season media fanfare, begins: “The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot.”
...Miracle market: Mark's enigmatic ending
So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid....
Mainline worries about dearth of young pastors: Fewer than 5 percent under 35
At the end of April, a new TV ad financed by the Episcopal Church will show 30-something Paige Blair of Maine talking casually about how during tough times, church provides her “some solace and per...