(ANALYSIS) This past Feb. 15 marked the 10th anniversary of Daesh (the Islamic State group or ISIL) releasing the video of the murder of 21 men on a beach in Libya. The majority of them were Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians who were abducted from Sirte, Libya, between December 2014 and January 2015. One of the men was from Ghana and chose to stay with the Coptic men and face the same fate.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many of the ad's photographs are easy to interpret, such as a man removing “GO BACK” graffiti from a home, a woman helping a weeping man in a grocery store, a firefighter hard at work and a young football player comforting a defeated opponent. But the John 3:16 hat raised the theological stakes in the pride photograph.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Freedom of religion means that religious beliefs, or irreligious ones, can be criticized, even mocked, as happens frequently in Sweden to, for example, Christian sentiments. In an open society, people of different faiths — Christians, Muslims, Jews, agnostics and secular humanists — must be able to live side by side in freedom and security. But they may be critically scrutinized, even ridiculed.
Read More(ANALYSIS) James Mangold’s film “A Complete Unknown,” nominated for eight Oscars, captures the elusive, enigmatic quality of Bob Dylan in the early 1960s: The years he emerged as a major musical and cultural phenomenon. A scant few years after he came to New York from Minnesota, and legally changed his name from Robert Allen Zimmerman, Dylan transformed American music. Especially “unknown” and baffling is Dylan’s religious and spiritual identity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Both prophets and conspiracy theorists fulfill a human need to find order in chaos. This overlap raises intriguing questions: Are religious belief and conspiratorial thinking positively linked, as both require imaginative leaps? Or do religious frameworks provide all the mental scaffolding needed, leaving no room for conspiracy theories?
Read More(ANALYSIS) Everyone in your church can pray. From older saints to younger children, we all learn to pray by praying. Work, therefore, to create more meaningful times for prayer in all existing services, and schedule more dynamic prayer meetings. Any pastor anywhere can cast a vision to create a culture of prayer. You have the tools. Start where you are.
Read MoreI’m not suggesting that the New York Times team that produced this recent feature — “Seeking God, or Peter Thiel, in Silicon Valley” — needed to dig into the works of this Orthodox monk. This business-desk feature was the hook for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Conservatives, Christian conservatives in particular, have always had a troubled and inconsistent relationship with the idea of government funding flowing to nonprofits. Now, Donald Trump has reengaged the fight to reduce the size of government with DOGE, though he is going about it in strange ways.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Moments after the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, quarterback Jalen Hurts offered a familiar word of testimony: “God is good. He is greater than all of the highs and lows.” If those words sounded familiar, it's because Hurts — the MVP — shared them earlier on press day, along with several other times when he was in the spotlight: “My faith has always been a part of me.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) Love is one of the richest and most diverse human emotions. There are many ways to experience love — so this holiday, as a scholar of mindfulness and communication, I encourage you to try out a practice of “metta,” or loving-kindness.
Read MoreCalled the world’s largest religious gathering, the event has already drawn 148 million people. Attendance is expected to exceed 400 million by the time it ends on Feb. 26, and surging crowds have already claimed dozens of lives at the sacred site. Attendees range from Indian business tycoons and members of parliament to social media personages, film stars and celebrities.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Easily the biggest religious controversy at this year’s Academy Awards is with the movie “Conclave.” The film, based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, follows a cardinal named Lawrence who’s been tasked with running the selection of a new pope. But Lawrence’s faith is challenged when he uncovers secrets at the Vatican.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Super Bowl, in which the Eagles routed the Chiefs, was more than a showdown between a franchise with two wins under its belt — and the support of the president — and a scrappy underdog from Philadelphia. It was a bellwether for the state of America and its approach to looming fascism in our society writ large. It was a mix of faith and politics that saw two hip-hop artists going very different directions, with Ye selling swastika shirts while Lamar parodied patriotism.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Nearly two decades have passed since the 26-year civil war ended in Sri Lanka. Yet, Muslims displaced from the island nation still face significant challenges in returning to their homes and reclaiming their land. The civil war between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Tamil guerrilla separatists, displaced around 300,000 Tamils and 70,000 Muslims.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Feb. 9 resignation of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, which conveys little remorse or admission of failure, must at least be followed by swift and constitutionally sound action from Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to ensure that this potential first step toward resolving the prolonged conflict is somewhat effective.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The span from 1991 to 1998, in my estimation, is the most consequential period of American religious history in the past five decades. For the 20 years prior, the share of young Americans who were Christians was about 85%, while the nonreligious portion never moved above 10%.
Read MoreUnder normal conditions, a pope releasing a highly personal memoir about his life would create quite a few headlines. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case with “Life: My Story Through History,” the new autobiography from Pope Francis, co-written with Carlo Musso, founder of the Italian publishing company Libreria Pienogiorno. That’s strange, since this is being hailed as the first memoir from a sitting pope.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Carey Nieuwhof recently released a video discussing five disruptive trends in the church, which included some sobering statistics. In this article, I’ll highlight one of these trends and offer thoughts on potential solutions from the front lines of reaching the next generation. The first trend Nieuwhof highlights is that Gen Z is simultaneously experiencing revival and retreat. I generally agree with his assessment.
Read More(ANALYSIS) President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. should “take over” Gaza, displace its current population and turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East” is unsettling — in both a literal and, to Palestinians, a very personal sense.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Chaplains work with hospitals, hospices, military units, legislatures, schools, sports teams, corporations, prisons and police and fire departments. Many, but not all, are ordained ministers. For most Americans, the chaplains they know best serve in the nation's 6,000 or more hospitals. Pastors visit the sick and dying from their own congregations. For hospital chaplains, this is the heart of their work — every day.
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