Guest Post

New today from the Century: John Buchanan on gratitude, Laura Kelly Fanucci on people-watching at church, more.

Earlier this year, the Century published a piece by an environmental scientist on just how radical the current shift in CO2 levels are—from the perspective of 50 million years. As I was working with that scientist, Lee Vierling, on the piece, we struggled to find a language that he and I and readers of the Century could share. He wanted something that was fluid and scientifically absolutely accurate. He also wanted to be certain that he was not using scare tactics.

New today from the Century: Lillian Daniel on AAR-SBL and the Hyatt boycott, Bruce Epperly reviews Living the Questions, more.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to consider whether to grant review of the Defense of Marriage Act. This follows the recent appellate court decision declaring the 16-year-old law unconstitutional. Judges in New York and Boston have now said DOMA violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and interferes with a state’s right to set marriage eligibility requirements. But the final word will come from the Supreme Court.

New today from the Century: Craig Barnes on leaving his congregation, Steven Porter on the Supreme Court and DOMA, more.

New today from the Century: Rodney Clapp's personal soundtrack, Diane Roth on visiting her dad at the nursing home, more.

New today from the Century: The editors on topics the campaign avoided, Martin Copenhaver reviews Anthony Robinson and Robert Wall, more.

New today from the Century: Stephanie Paulsell on saints and doubters, MaryAnn McKibben Dana on deep acting in ministry, more.

We hear a lot about the "nones" these days: Americans who claim no connection to any particular faith. We'll hear a lot more too, as recent studies document this ever-expanding slice of the American demographic pie. We hear less, however, about the nones as individuals. But like any pastor, I’ve known more than a few in my time. At 20 percent of society, they are literally everybody's friends and neighbors.

New today from the Century: John Buchanan's faulty assumptions, nones Daniel Schultz has known, more.

Some Orthodox Christians in Russia have taken issue with Apple’s logo recently, seeing an anti-Christian symbol for humanity’s original sin in the image of a bitten fruit. It’s hard to believe that Apple execs conspired with their graphic designers to offend Christians, but these Russian conservatives got me thinking. If we did assign significance to the Apple logo, what might it mean?

New today from the Century: A pastor nails her church's doors shut, exegeting the Apple logo, God doesn't cause rape.

“The government that is closest to the people governs best.” That sentiment was expressed recently by Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, and it’s long been a staple of conservative political philosophy and of candidates who want federal programs to be taken over by state and local governments. But liberals embrace it in their own way when they talk about “participatory democracy” and the need for people to be able to make decisions about the issues that directly affect them. The question is: what does it mean for government to be “closer” to people?

New today from the Century: Philip Jenkins on mainstream African churches, Heidi Neumark on All Saints, more.

New today from the Century: Amy Frykholm on clergy health, Jonathan Walton reviews Edward Blum and Paul Harvey, more.

New today from the Century: Isaac Mwangi on religious tensions in Kenya, Rachel Stone on the gospel and obesity, more.

New today from the Century: Christine Pohl on kindness, Steve Thorngate on Romney's fiscal intentions, more.

New today from the Century: Beth Felker Jones on Pinterest, Jon Sweeney reviews Michael Plekon, more.

At a reception to launch a new collection of Lucille Clifton’s poems (The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010), the editor of the volume, Kevin Young, described coming across a folder in Clifton’s archives at Emory University. The folder had been labeled “Unpublished Poems.” That label had been scratched out and replaced by something like, “Poems that really aren’t that good and should probably just be thrown away someday.” That label too had been scratched out and replaced with “Bad poems.”

New today from the Century: Steve Thorngate on defining the middle class, Gail Irwin on the importance of stuff, more.