(ANALYSIS) What’s your most evangelistic T-shirt? I’ve got a bunch from my church — youth camps where I was a counselor, mission trips, Leadership Training for Christ. But the T-shirt that gets the most comments simply says “Jesus ♥ You.”
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(ANALYSIS) With a nod to digital life, Merriam-Webster has expanded its “influencer” definition to include a “person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media.” Pope Leo XIV didn't use that term in his latest remarks on faith in the internet age, even while addressing the recent Vatican Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Influencers.
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(ANALYSIS) In a summer when world leaders debate regulation of artificial intelligence and digital platforms scramble to retain user trust, Pope Leo XIV is offering a different vision — rooted not in control but in communion, not in efficiency but in encounter. Over a million young people under the Roman twilight, that invitation resonated — not as nostalgia, but as a hopeful step into the future.
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(ANALYSIS) Ask Harvard University. But first, British philosopher John Locke said each person has God-given rights to life, liberty, and property. America’s Declaration of Independence replaced “property” with “the Pursuit of Happiness” as among humans’ “unalienable Rights … endowed by their Creator.” On the brink of the Declaration’s 250th anniversary, just how can happiness be pursued?
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(ANALYSIS) The situation in Gaza requires urgent attention and response from the international community — to prevent further civilian suffering and death. While some steps have been taken to provide humanitarians assistance, as it stands, the steps appear to be too little and too late to address the current and ever-growing needs of the population.
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(ANALYSIS) Christian transhumanism sounds like a contradiction — because it is. For years, transhumanism has been tied to atheism. Man becoming god. Machines replacing miracles. But now, a strange movement is growing in America. Some believers argue that resurrection and uploading your mind aren't so different. That eternal life through tech is an upgrade, not heresy.
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(ANALYSIS) PCA folks, it’s your moment — few denominations punch above their weight online like you do. Here’s why.
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Deion Sanders can’t — or won’t — stop talking about the Lord. Especially now. This week, Colorado’s head football coach mentioned God and faith at least three dozen times during a 40-minute news conference to discuss his private battle with bladder cancer.
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Channeling the rage on the Bluesky social-media platform, Sunny Hostin at “The View” claimed that the decision by CBS executives to cancel Stephen Colbert's “Late Show” could be the start of dangerous people "dismantling of our Constitution.” This raised questions for me, several of which were discussed during this week’s “Crossroads” podcast. For starters, who — other than President Donald Trump & Co. — were these dangerous people? Did this include millions of Americans who used to watch late-night TV and are now watching whatever they choose to watch on YouTube?
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(ANALYSIS) When Scottie Scheffler celebrated his recent victory at the British Open, it was hard to tell who drew the loudest cheers — the world's No. 1 golfer or his toddler son, Bennett. Nike captured the family vibe with a viral advertisement showing Scheffler and Bennett, with the caption, "You've already won," before adding, “But another major never hurt.”
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(ANALYSIS) Nearly five million travelers visit Yellowstone National Park each year, most in the summer months. They come for the geysers, wildlife, scenery and recreational activities such as hiking, fishing and photography. However, few realize that religion has been part of Yellowstone’s appeal throughout the park’s history.
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(ANALYSIS) Unless a federal court challenge succeeds, American clergy are now free to endorse political candidates in sermons during worship. The Internal Revenue Service has just erased the pulpit prohibition that for 71 years was among conditions to obtain federal tax exemption on income and donor gifts. The impact is tough to predict.
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(ANALYSIS) For some Jewish college students, the Trump administration’s approach to campus antisemitism came as a relief after two years of what they perceived as weak action by universities and the federal government. Fewer are cheering after the White House signed a $221 million settlement with Columbia University.
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This brings us to Scheffler’s remarkable press conference in which he offered a long, complex set of quotes about the centrality of his family and faith in his life and work. To many sports insiders he sounded like a heretic, as opposed to a prophet.
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Oh no, not Theo. That was the first thought of millions of Generation Xers when the news broke this week of Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s accidental drowning death in Costa Rica at age 54. Here’s why “The Cosby Show” actor was so influential and beloved.
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(ANALYSIS) In reinventing himself, did Robert Allen Zimmerman — Dylan’s birth name and the grandson of Lithuanian and Ukrainian Jewish immigrants — also betray his Jewish heritage? What was that heritage and how did it shape his music, his worldview, his rise to fame and identity? Harry Freedman explores these questions in his probing book, “Bob Dylan: Jewish Roots, American Soil.”
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(ANALYSIS) The more people are inundated by joking memes about people being beaten and handcuffed by U.S. government forces, the less startling they are. And the easier it is to believe that, perhaps, this is the way things have been since the beginning — just as God made them.
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(ANALYSIS) When Zohran Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City, political observers noted his progressive platform and legislative record. But understanding the Democratic candidate’s background requires examining the rich cultural tapestry woven into his very surname: Mamdani.
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(ANALYSIS) Things are moving in another direction, no doubt. Some people embrace that change and look forward to a more diverse America, while others pine for a country that they think existed five or six decades ago. But what portion is in each camp?
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(ANALYSIS) Strolling through the streets of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, one easily gets the impression of walking through multiple cities at once.
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