Posts in North America
Former Ohio Pastor And ‘American Idol’ Contestant Charged In Wife’s Murder

A former Ohio worship pastor and “American Idol” contestant has been arrested in connection with the murder of his wife. Police arrested Caleb Flynn, 39, on Feb. 19, three days after responding to a burglary call at his suburban Dayton home and finding his wife Ashley Flynn, 37, shot dead.

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Crossroads Podcast: When A Religion Story Turns Into A Botched News Brief

While most “Crossroads” podcasts focus on religion angles in major news stories, this week’s episode focused, you guessed it, on a short news “brief.” The problem is that we are talking about a brief about a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod story that, if the details had been accurate, was worthy of an A1 feature.

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The Sainthood Cause Of Sister Thea Bowman Moves Forward

As the Diocese of Jackson advances Sister Thea Bowman’s cause for sainthood, Catholics reflect on her prophetic witness. A Mississippi teacher, scholar and evangelist, she challenged the church to recognize Black faith and everyday holiness — urging believers to see saints not only in Rome’s past, but in their own families.

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Carl And Laura Lentz Pen Book On Healing Infidelity 6 Years After Hillsong Firing

Carl Lentz and his wife Laura announced a new book, “Overcoming Infidelity,” detailing their efforts to rebuild their marriage after his 2020 firing from Hillsong Church. The book offers practical guidance for couples seeking healing after betrayal. The book will help guide couples attempting to navigate the aftermath of betrayal.

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As Holocaust Survivors Die, AI Avatars Step In To Tell Their Stories

As Holocaust survivors age, organizations are turning to AI-powered avatars to preserve their testimony. An interactive version of survivor Sonia Warshawski, created with StoryFile, allows students to ask questions about her life and experiences. Supporters call it the future of Holocaust education, while critics question its ethical and emotional limits.

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Citing Rising Costs, Providence Christian College To Close This Spring

The board of trustees for Providence Christian College in California voted to close the Reformed liberal arts school at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. The president’s announcement cites declining enrollments, rising operational costs, heightened accreditation expectations and the loss of federal funding.

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Most Protestant Churchgoers Confess Sins Weekly

Most U.S. Protestant churchgoers regularly confess their sins and try to avoid temptation, according to Lifeway Research’s State of Discipleship study. Many say they quickly turn from sin and seek to obey God, though fewer report fully surrendering personal goals. Overall, respondents show a consistent desire for spiritual growth and obedience.

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When Faith Disappears, Idols Return: Santayana’s Warning to the Modern World

(ANALYSIS) People love to talk about “profound” philosophers. Socrates with his questions. Nietzsche with his hammer. Marx with his systems. But George Santayana rarely gets the same reverence, despite the unsettling precision of his view of modern life. Santayana is hard to place, which may be why he is often skipped.

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Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Icon And Faith Leader, Dies At 84

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon and a protege of Martin Luther King, Jr., died Tuesday at the age of 84 following a long fight with a rare brain disorder known as progressive supranuclear palsy. Jackson, a Baptist minister, was seen as the primary leader of the Civil Rights Movement following King’s murder in 1968 and was known for using his Christian faith to fuel his political protests.

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Olympics History And Debunking The Myth That Jews Are Bad At Sports

This year’s Winter Olympic Games are filled with Jewish athletes. They can be found on the hockey rink, on the slopes, sliding on bobsleds and in the figure skating competitions. Despite a robust representation in Milan-Cortina, the stereotype that Jews are bad at sports has not fully vanished.

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Actor Robert Duvall Wove Faith And Flawed Humanity Into His Films

(ESSAY) Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor whose six-decade career spanned from “To Kill a Mockingbird” to “The Apostle,” died on Sunday at 95. Known for his soulful, searching performances, Duvall wove faith, redemption and human frailty into his movies, leaving behind a legacy defined by conviction, craft and spiritual depth.

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Church Of England Votes Against Blessings For Same-Sex Couples

The Anglican denomination continues to reject gay marriage, a decision it affirmed in 2023 while instead voting to pursue blessings. The vote to end the pursuit closed three years of work in the broader Living in Love and Faith initiative regarding identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage, that the church launched nine years ago.

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Should Religions Have Rituals Such As Baptism For Infants?

(ANALYSIS) Former Irish President Mary McAleese argues that infant baptism violates children’s human rights by imposing church membership without consent. Critics respond that parents possess religious freedom in child-rearing, note historical and biblical defenses of infant baptism, and compare similar birth rituals across Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

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Pancakes On The Run: Churches Host Unique Pre-Lent Tradition

It all started in the year 1445 when a baker was making a batch of pancakes when the church bell started ringing. Undeterred, the baker ran to the church, holding her pan and flipping the pancake as she went. Now, it is a beloved Fat Tuesday tradition in several communities across the United Kingdom.

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From Fireworks To Family Dinners: Inside China’s Lunar New Year Traditions

Lunar New Year is a widely celebrated cultural and religious festival observed across Asia and worldwide. Marking the start of a new lunar cycle, it blends ancient traditions, spiritual practices and symbolic foods that express hopes for prosperity, health and happiness while emphasizing family unity, renewal and reflection.

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Churches Confront The Spiritual And Emotional Risks Of Chatbot Attachments

An upstate New Yorker developed a deep emotional attachment to ChatGPT, spending $900 trying to “free” it, before realizing it was a delusion. Experts warn AI relationships exploit loneliness, potentially harming mental health and spirituality. Churches and counselors are now addressing unhealthy AI attachments, helping people reconnect with real relationships and God.

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Thinking About Love As A Virtue Changes Our Response To Hate

(ANALYSIS) Love and hate seem like obvious opposites. Love, whether romantic or otherwise, involves a sense of warmth and affection for others. Hate involves feelings of disdain. Love builds up, whereas hate destroys. However, this description of love and hate treats them as merely emotions.

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Crossroads Podcast: Preaching To The Choir And Washington Post Layoffs

While reading some of the outraged commentary about the spectacular staff cuts at The Washington Post, I keep thinking of the immortal words of King Theoden of Rohan, when facing dark waves of evil during the Battle of Helm’s Deep. All together now: “How did it come to this?”

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Why Carrie Prejean Boller Was Ousted From Trump’s Religious Freedom Panel

Former Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission after rejecting Zionism during an antisemitism hearing. A recent Catholic convert, she argued the modern state of Israel holds no biblical significance, reflecting a broader shift among some American Christians away from traditional Zionist support.

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Romantasy: The Book Genre That Blends Love, Magic ... And Moral Dilemmas?

Romantasy is the literary genre that has become all the rage around the world. Combining imaginative scope of fantasy with the emotional intensity of romance, these books use love as a central narrative driver. At the same time, the setting provides a chance for world-building and supernatural elements that heighten the stakes of romance.  

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