(ANALYSIS) One hundred years ago this month, Americans were transfixed as a Tennessee courtroom hosted challenge to the state’s new law barring “the teaching of the Evolution Theory” in public schools, including colleges. The prohibition covered “any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A 1954 law barring churches and pastors from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office will no longer be enforced, the Internal Revenue Service said.
Read MoreThe Dallas-area Gateway megachurch is reducing the number of services at its campuses each weekend. According to a Gateway spokesperson, it will be cutting Saturday services at all of its campuses, except its flagship Southlake campus.
Read MoreIn the heart of Nairobi’s Mukuru slum, where corrugated iron shacks gleam under the equatorial sun, Sister Mary Killeen has woven a legacy of hope. Known as the “Mother Teresa of Nairobi,” this Dublin-born Sister of Mercy has spent nearly five decades transforming lives in one of Kenya’s most impoverished areas.
Read More(OPINION) As someone who works with Catholic religious communities, I hear things. Up until recently, what I’ve heard has been a hopeful message that includes how much God loves each and every one of us. In recent months, though, even what I hear from the various vowed religious women with whom I interact has become somewhat ominous.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Evangelicals struck a middle path. They did not make the mistake of turning inward completely, nor did they capitulate to the larger culture either. Instead, they still managed to interact with the world just enough while maintaining their cultural distinctiveness on things like sexuality, abortion, divorce, etc.
Read MoreThe grief. The guilt. The giant fog. Matt Collins can’t help but experience the catastrophic Texas flooding — especially the deaths of children in a sudden natural disaster — through a deeply personal lens.
Read MoreBaylor University’s president announced in a letter Wednesday (July 9) that the school has rescinded a grant toward the study of “disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women” in churches. The move came after Baylor’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work announced on June 30 that it had received a grant of nearly $644,000 toward its Center for Church and Community Impact, also called C3I.
Read MoreWhat do Texans want to find if they have the financial ability and the time to get away from that searing reality? To be blunt, they are looking for water, breezes, dry air and, yes, altitude. This brings us to the tragic headlines at the heart of this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.
Read MoreA recent concert for peace in Gaza brought together Jews and Palestinians at a Catholic church in Santiago. Some 500 people attended the concert for cello, flute and classical guitar, with two female voices, organized by the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Fernando Chomalí. The archbishop, who organized the event, is a descendant of Palestinian immigrants.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Moyers died on June 26 at the age of 91, after a long and complex career in which he served as a speech writer and press secretary for President Lyndon B. Johnson, followed by decades of work with CBS, NBC and PBS. However, before that, the Rev. Bill Moyers was a Southern Baptist pastor in Texas towns like Brandon and Weir. He was proud of those roots and his convictions as a progressive Baptist.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Are Superman and Jesus headed for an American revival? For better or worse, people’s love of Superman and devotion to God have always been tightly fused. Whether this will lead to a long-term revival for both or just a short-term connection remains to be seen. For now, a lot more people are looking up to the heavens than were before.
Read MoreBill Moyers was arguably among the best reporters on the religion beat. Even if it wasn’t always the main focus of his work or what comes to mind for those familiar with his legacy, still, he was a lifelong spiritual seeker.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This is a mountainous and, until recently, remote area that is culturally and historically distinct from the rest of India. It is also the most thoroughly Baptist region in the world. For example, the church in Mon, a town of approximately 17,000 people, is the largest Baptist church in Asia. It dwarfs surrounding buildings and can seat 10,000 worshippers.
Read More(ESSAY) When I began exploring the history of Christianity and the art it inspired, I had no idea it would lead me to one of the closest friendships of my life. That friend was Alexei Mihailovich Lidov, a world-renowned scholar of Byzantine art and architecture. The path to that friendship began in 1999, when our family traveled to Turkey for the first time.
Read MoreAleksei Mihailovich Lidov was one of the world’s most distinguished art historians. A scholar of deep intellect and quiet defiance, Lidov came of age in the late Soviet era, navigating a world split between official ideology and private truth. He died on May 29 at the age of 66. In this 2017 interview, Lidov looks back at his life, his family and what made him into an art historian.
Read MoreThe Trinity Broadcasting Network was sued by a media company started by TV personality Phil McGraw, whose eponymous talk show “Dr. Phil” captivated 10 million U.S. viewers weekly during 21 seasons on TV. The lawsuit claims TBN saddled McGraw’s enterprises with more than $100 million in financial obligations while not delivering on production and distribution services.
Read MoreThe bodies of seven evangelical Christians and a relative were found July 1 in a shallow grave in the Guaviare province in south-central Colombia. The six men and two women had been reported missing since April.
Read MoreA former California assistant pastor has been sentenced to two years in state prison for stealing funds from a church while its founding pastor lay dying, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Read More(EXCERPT) Could the flourishing history of journalism provide clues for enabling it to flourish in future? Why is society’s watchdog, the press, with its long and often honorable pedigree, going feral? Failing to bark at misrepresentation and fraud, while snarling at truth? Why does journalism have the privileged position it does?
Read More
