Posts in History
5 Crucial Questions For Jews And Muslims Post-Ceasefire

(ANALYSIS) Israel and Hamas’ new ceasefire deal promises to bring much-needed relief to the region after 15 months of brutal conflict. But a series of uncertainties continues to loom large. Many pivotal questions remain unanswered, and their resolution will determine whether this ceasefire is a genuine step towards lasting peace or merely a temporary reprieve.

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Why The World’s Only Prison For Catholic Priests Was In Franco’s Spain

(ANALYSIS) The Catholic Church was one of the social and ideological pillars of Francoism from the moment of the coup, as evidenced by the ‘Collective letter of all Spanish bishops’, made public July 1, 1937 to support a movement that “has strengthened the sense of homeland” and “has guaranteed order in the territory.” The same regime that was born out of a “crusade” with the purpose of shielding the power and traditional privileges of the church, ended up creating a prison to imprison priests critical of power.

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Pope Francis’ New Autobiography ‘Hope’ Hits Bookshelves In 80 Countries

The book, six years in the making, vividly recreates Pope Francis’ childhood in Buenos Aires and offers few new insights into his papacy. The book is enhanced by remarkable photographs, including private and unpublished material made personally available by Francis himself. He tackles a series of topics, including the future of the church, social policy, migration and the environmental crisis.

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How Jimmy Carter Saved A Jewish Mausoleum In Ukraine

(ANALYSIS) President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100, was eulogized last Thursday at his state funeral in Washington, D.C. in a Scripture-filled service recalling a lifetime of good deeds and spirituality. Overlooked in all the tributes to the 39th U.S. president and born again evangelical Baptist was Carter’s role in 1979 from preventing the demolition of the mausoleum of Chassidic Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman.

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‘Ancient Christianities’: A Look At The Church’s Evolution Over Its First 500 Years

(REVIEW) Compelling and comprehensive, this book may nonetheless be an uphill climb for lay readers with little more than a basic Sunday school education. Helpful maps, a glossary and a timeline offer context and reorienting for those who may get lost in the thickets of such esoterica as apocalyptic hypostasis. None of this should dissuade the curious who want a deeper understanding of Christianity’s complex, layered early history.

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Chile’s New Immigrant Museum Stands Amid Churches And Cemeteries

A new immigrant museum near the 19th-century Anglican and Lutheran churches and Catholic and Protestant cemeteries plans to become the center of cultural life on Valparaíso’s most visited attraction, Cerro Concepción. The former German School of Valparaíso is undergoing a renovation to become the Museo del Inmigrante.

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‘We Welcome In Our Church Equality For All’: Recalling Carter’s Faith And Legacy

When Plains Baptist Church voted overwhelmingly in the 1950s to bar Blacks and “racial agitators” from membership, Jimmy Carter and a handful of his family members were the only ones opposed to the restriction.

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How ‘So Help Me God’ Entered The Presidential Oath Of Office

(ANALYSIS) On Jan. 20, Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office. And then he will probably add the phrase “so help me God.” Those four little words are not in the Constitution, but for many Americans, the phrase has been a part of the oath ever since George Washington was said to have added it 236 years ago.

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‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Highlights The Popularity Of Korean Shamanism

The second season of the global streaming sensation “Squid Game” introduced viewers to several new characters. One of the most intriguing has been Player 044 due to her strong religious beliefs. Player 044 is a shaman whose role was to curse others and deliver prophecies as the players moved from one deadly game to another.

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The 300-Year-Old Monastery in Japan That’s Full of Westerners

(ESSAY) Over the course of our hour together, Sokyu had walked me through the 16-year journey which had taken him from a mundane life n Budapest to a Hungarian witch who claimed to see angels and healed by waving her hands over him, then finally to an 18th-century Zen monastery in the mountains of rural Japan.

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Christians Face Continued Persecution As Africa Remains Jihadi Hotbed

Christian persecution intensified in 2024 in Nicaragua, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and regions throughout Africa’s Sahel region, ICC said in a new report, citing increased government hostility in Nicaragua, Hindu nationalism and anti-conversion laws in India and terrorism and displacement in Africa.

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Why Is This 1,700-Year-Old Creed So Important?

(ANALYSIS) No text ever written can compare with the impact of the Nicene Creed in this way: Whenever the world’s two billion-plus Christians gather for their regular Communion services, most recite these ancient words to define their core beliefs affirmed across the centuries, in a multitude of nations and languages, in churches that may differ on many other matters.

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Religion Will Be Crucial As Post-Assad Syria Seeks Restoration

The instant collapse of Assad’s rule will reshape the geopolitics of the Mideast for years to come. Within Syria itself, the challenge is how to replace the bloodthirsty past and current revolutionary turbulence with effective government capable of restoring and unifying a nation that currently copes with regional occupations by Turkey, Israel and others.

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5 Religion News Trends To Watch For In 2025

It may be the start of a new year, but many of the same issues and concerns will dominate the news cycle in 2025. From Pope Francis’ health from the erosion of religious freedom in many parts of the globe to the moral implications that come with the widespread use of AI, here’s what to watch for in the new year.  

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Former President And Sunday School Teacher Jimmy Carter Dies At 100

Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal, endured a humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. The Sunday School teacher — the first American president to call himself “born again” — was 100 years old.

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New Year’s Eve Celebrates St. Silvester: The Pope Who Changed Christianity

(ANALYSIS) On Dec. 31, while many people are preparing for their New Years Eve parties, some Roman Catholic Christians will also mark the feast day for St. Silvester. Silvester’s era was one of both turmoil and transition for Christians living in the Roman Empire, as some Christian communities emerged from persecution into a powerful alliance with the Romans. His story is intertwined with this alliance, which would change the trajectory of the movement initiated by Jesus three centuries earlier.

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Crossroads Podcast: Were There Any Actual Religion-News Stories In 2024?

(ANALYSIS) Almost two decades ago, the reigning editor of The New York Times admitted, during a speech to the National College Media Association, that the world’s most influential journalism cathedral had changed one of its core doctrines. 

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On Religion: The Top 10 National Faith Stories Of 2024

(ANALYSIS) President Donald Trump is returning to the White House, convinced — after a close encounter with an assassin's bullet — that he had God on his side in the election. While opinions differed on that theological question, Trump drew support from voters that frequented pews. Members of Religion News Association selected the presidential election as the year's top national religion story.

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‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’: Tracing The Religious Origins Of Christmas Carols

(ANALYSIS) Each carol, like those who sing them, carries a unique backstory filled with history, hope and sometimes even heartbreak. They are, in many ways, a reflection of life itself. Together, they remind us that Christmas isn’t just about celebration — it’s about honoring the moments, both light and dark, that shape who we are.

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Crossroads Podcast: Will It Be Safe This Christmas For Syria’s Christians?

(ANALYSIS) Anyone who is interested in the roots of Christian history is familiar with the following, drawn from the 11th chapter of Acts. Where is Antioch today? That biblical city now known as Antakya, located on the Orontes River about 12 miles from the Syrian border. The history of the church in Antioch was at the heart of the news in this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.

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