Among China’s traditional holidays and celebrations, none ranks higher in importance than the Lunar New Year (農曆新年). Also known as the Spring Festival (春節), or simply Chinese New Year, it marks the beginning of the year according to the traditional lunar calendar.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Armenian quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City is facing its biggest crisis in a long time. A Jewish businessman with connections to the radical settler movement is poised to develop a quarter of the neighborhood’s territory, with plans to build a luxury hotel. If this goes ahead, it will significantly change part of the Old City.
Read MoreIt was a New York Times headline that created tremors online: “As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do.” But here’s the question that was at the heart of this week’s “Crossroads” podcast: Why was this Pamela Paul essay in the opinion section, as opposed to being a hard-news report out front?
Read MoreInspired by a variety of religious and mystical traditions, the artist Marina Abramović has spent the last 50 years pushing her body and mind to their limits in performances that have captivated audiences around the world. This spring, one of the largest retrospectives of the artist’s work opens at The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Read MoreSuper Bowl ads are not all secular. Religious organizations have often used the annual big game as a platform to spread their message. On other occasions, religious themes have been used in a funny way to sell products. Here’s a closer look at five that stood out.
Read MoreAn alliance of civil organizations — known as the “Team BBM 2022 Coalition” — has rebranded in recent weeks into what’s known as the BLESSED Movement. Known by its acronym BLESSED under the leadership of Chairman Herbert Antonio Martinez, this group has transcended political affiliations in an effort to becoming a quasi-religious unifying force that brings together people from diverse backgrounds across the country.
Read MoreNot everyone will be enjoying chocolate this Valentine’s Day. For the first time since 2018, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day. In fact, this rare occurrence is taking place once again in less than a week. It has happened three times in the last century — 1923, 1934 and 1945 — and will happen again in 2029.
Read MoreThe swelling number of Islamic clerics and Middle Eastern politicians condemning Hamas continues to grow since the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel. Canadian-based imam was the latest to do so. Tariq Abdulhaleem called for Hamas’ leadership to be prosecuted for facilitating what he called “genocide in Gaza.”
Read MoreThe Jewish and Palestinian American pair are the force behind Atidna, a student organization of Jews and Palestinians that began at the university’s Austin campus two years ago. Initially, it focussed on similarities between Jewish and Palestinian culture, Kahlenberg said on a call shared with Hashem, stressing “that Jews and Arabs are cousins in one family and we’re not inherent enemies.”
Read MoreGo to a contemporary Christian music concert and often you’ll be greeted by materials about a child sponsorship ministry or other charitable group the band asks you to support. But do concertgoers know that, behind the scenes, money is being exchanged between the charity and musical artists?
Read MoreDespite an alumni-led petition drive urging a more progressive stance on LGBTQ+ issues, Abilene Christian University reaffirmed its existing policy. But for students at ACU, the debate over traditional vs. affirming views on same-sex relationships is not purely theological. It’s personal.
Read MoreAfter OpenAI CEO Sam Altman turned his nonprofit research laboratory into a for-profit, one of the organization’s biggest donors asked a compelling question. Elon Musk, America’s favorite billionaire, wrote, “If this is legal, why doesn’t everyone do it?”
Read More(ESSAY) The priest showed Nutsa the coffin holding the body of a revered Orthodox saint named Father Gabriel, whose remains were continuously sent around to various churches to provide miraculous healings. Georgians reported being healed of diseases ranging from burns to birth defects to cerebral palsy to brain cancer upon touching it. The local priest told Nusta she would be healed if she kissed Father Gabriel’s coffin. Nothing came of the ritual. Nutsa became an atheist a year later.
Read MoreThe most Jewish episode of “Curb” — and one of its most beloved — retold here by the people who made it. “Palestinian Chicken,” the third episode of the Larry David comedy’s eighth season, seemed anything but dated when it aired on July 24, 2011, and today, you can’t assemble a list of the show’s greatest episodes without it.
Read MoreThe Pour Over — a faith-based newsletter that reaches as many 550,000 unique subscribers — has surpassed all those prevoius efforts. It began in 2018 with a handful of readers and continues to grow, although founder Jason Woodruff doesn’t consider a greater audience the mark of success. Instead, it’s helping readers gain balance in a world that batters them with strident political reporting that can leave audiences off balance.
Read MoreThe consecration rituals of the icon of Lord Rama were performed in a newly built mega-temple in the town of Ayodhya, India, on Jan. 22, 2024. The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, performed the rituals during a 48-minute period considered auspicious by Hindu astrologers. Lord Rama, an avatara or incarnation of Vishnu, is one of the most important deities in the Hindu tradition.
Read MoreA drone attack that killed three American troops and wounded at least 34 more at a base in Jordan has increased fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East — and the possibility that the U.S. may be further drawn into the fighting.
Read MoreBy donating one hour per week, a Christian can make a big difference in the life of an international friend. Let’s Start Talking helps non-native speakers improve their English skills by reading the Bible.
Read MoreThe founder of the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and prison reentry program in the world is a mystic, a Jesuit priest who does not believe that God has a plan for your life. Having buried 260 young men and women, Father Greg Boyle rejects the idea that it is God’s plan that anyone should die of a gang member’s bullet.
Read MoreA (mostly) orderly crowd of hundreds descended on the New York eatery to celebrate Shabbat, show Jewish support for the restaurant’s anti-occupation politics, and affirm that — at least in Brooklyn — coexistence between Jews and Muslims is a reality, not a pipe dream.
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