(OPINION) For the past decade, a handful of megachurches have dominated worship music. They include Elevation Church, Australia-based Hillsong, and California’s Bethel Church — all churches that have had their share of scandal and controversy. Still, most worship leaders have carefully compartmentalized the controversy and have continued to use their songs — and, in effect, financially support these churches.
Read More(OPINION) Why do U.S. power-brokers, and journalists themselves, pay little or no heed to ardent pronouncements by the World Council of Churches and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA?
Read More(TRAVEL) In the center of this Scandinavian capital city, you’ll find a humble museum dedicated to the story of the Bible where a bartender gets to moonlight as a volunteer historian. The Nordic Bible Museum shows up as a blip on some printed tourist maps of the downtown city center but isn’t as well known as Oslo’s stunning Opera House or its fancy “Munch” museum dedicated to painter Edvard Munch.
Read MoreMookie Wilson’s ground ball that went through first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series has been called lots of things. Just don’t call one of the biggest plays in baseball history divine intervention if you’re around Wilson. These days, Wilson, who has been an ordained Baptist minister since 2014, continues to serve as a role model.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Joseph Henrich, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, has written a theory of how the Western mind and cultures became exceptional. He has coined the acronym WEIRD (for Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) to describe the features of this.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Starling Girl” is, at its heart, a visceral reminder of what it’s like to grow up as a girl in strict religious environments. It’s also a thorough picture of the grievances made about fundamentalist and evangelical Christian circles in two recent docuseries.
Read More(REVIEW) The encore performance at Christ Cathedral of “Fiat Lux” was billed as “Pacific Symphony & Pacific Chorale in concert with Paul Jacobs,” and the opening pieces were programmed to additionally celebrate the refurbishment of the cathedral’s Hazel Wright Organ, the fifth-largest pipe organ in the world.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Sotomayor’s dissent poses an interesting inquiry, regardless of one’s personal opinion of where the court should have landed on affirmative action: Does the Constitution uphold the spiritual and religious freedom of faith-based higher education institutions to engage in holistic, race-conscious admissions practices as an expression of their sincerely held institutional religious beliefs?
Read More(ANALYSIS) Religion in 21st century America has become an enclave for people who have done everything “right.” They have college degrees and marriages and children and middle-class incomes. For those who don’t check all those boxes, religion is just not for them.
Read More(REVIEW) Joseph Lovett’s “Children of the Inquisition” is a feature length documentary exploring the worldwide Sephardic diaspora and recounting the history of various Jewish families seeking refuge during the Spanish Inquisition.
Read MoreAlliance University, a Christian college in lower Manhattan that primarily served minority students, announced it will close this year after losing its accreditation amid other hurdles.
Read MoreKAMPALA, Uganda — The House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Uganda has nullified the election of the fourth bishop of Luweero Diocese in the central region and canceled his consecration that had been slated for July 16 over allegations of infidelity. He’s the latest in a line of clergy to be removed for such hypocrisy.
Read More(REVIEW) Jimmy Lai wasn’t terribly interested in Christianity for most of his life, but his wife was passionate about it, so he went to church for her. Yet, when he embraced it, he found its ability to give comfort and meaning in his fight against the evil in the world to be something he valued.
Read More(OPINION) The bishops of Aleppo, Syria — Metropolitan Paul Yazigi and Metropolitan Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church — disappeared 10 years ago while seeking the release of two kidnapped priests. Their car was surrounded by a pack of armed men as they maneuvered through risky checkpoints west of Aleppo. Their driver died in the gunfire, but a survivor later testified that the kidnappers were not speaking Arabic and appeared to be from Chechnya.
Read More(OPINION) Two recent documentary series offer distressing portraits of Christian organizations that, although unrelated, appear eerily similar. Both movements gained prominence in part by instilling fear and shame in their members. Both have reaped abuse, scandal and decline.
Read More(REVIEW) Martin Doblmeier’s documentary, “Sabbath” explores how each of the monotheistic faiths have tackled the restlessness and consistent hurry of modern culture through adopting some variation on what the weekly Sabbath or time of rest looks like in their respective faith cultures.
Read MoreThe death of a supreme court judge in Uganda has sparked a hot public debate on the burial rights of the dead and surviving spouses in church marriages. The debate started after the death of Justice Stella Arach-Amoko, who succumbed to cancer at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala on June 17.
Read MoreThis week in our Talking to Tech series, we conducted another interview with ChatGPT-4. This was the second in a three-part interview. The first two involve questions specifically relating to the three monotheistic faiths.
Read MoreSome Muslims, Jews and other religious minorities in Thessaloniki also believe the city has found harmony between Abrahamic faiths in the past and can do so again. And one such olive branch toward religious understanding is taking root at the School of Theology in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, which is the first Greek university to implement an academic program on Islamic studies.
Read More(REVIEW) “Sound Of Freedom” tries really hard to raise awareness about the very real evils of sex trafficking, but in the process creators forgot to also make a good movie. While the goal is worthy, this is one of the most mind-numbingly boring movies I’ve seen in ages.
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