Posts in North America
In ‘Our Father,’ A Fertility Doctor Justifies His Unethical Practice With Bible Verses

(REVIEW) Dr. Donald Cline was once regarded as one of the best fertility doctors in the state of Indiana. But the rise in home DNA testing revealed years of invasive, unethical practice. For dozens, it brought into question Cline’s religious beliefs and position as a church elder.

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Here’s A Soundbite For You: In The Bible, Does St. Peter Call Women The ‘Weaker Sex’?

(OPINION) In the Bible, does St. Peter call women the “weaker sex”? Jackson Wu, an evangelical theologian with the Global Training Network, raised the question about 1 Peter 3:7. Wu complains that the physical strength explanation “has often been used” to “subtly affirm the inferiority of women.” But some translations include a different interpretation in the text.

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How Gospel Music Influenced Elvis — And What The Biopic Missed

(REVIEW) “Elvis,” the biopic that explores the life and career of the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll,” shows him as a larger-than-life figure and an extremely talented performer who was largely inspired by gospel music. This is what the movie gets right, and what it missed out on.

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5 Catholic Storylines To Look For This Summer Ahead Of The Midterm Elections

(ANALYSIS) Political news coverage is, in part, guided by polls. There are dozens of them that come out every few days in reporters’ email inboxes trying to gauge the temperature of the electorate on any given politician or policy decisions. This is especially true in a presidential election year. It’s also true during the midterms, which will arrive on Nov. 8.

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Pope Francis apologizes to Canada's Indigenous Peoples for church role in past abuse

Pope Francis apologized to Canada’s Indigenous communities for the Catholic church’s role in forcibly converting them to the faith that led to generations of physical and sexual abuse. “I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples,” the pope said.

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This Catholic Nun Rejects The Pro-Choice/Pro-Life Binary

Catholic nun and medical doctor Teresa Forcades says women should make their own abortion decisions. Forcades is quick to clarify that she is not “pro-choice” and that she, too, believes in the sanctity of life, but the situation is “way more complex” to squeeze into the pro-choice/pro-life binary that frames today’s abortion debate.

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Q&A With Kathryn Gin Lum, Author Of ‘Heathen: Religion And Race In American History’

In the past few years a national conversation has ignited about the character of racial and religious outsiders, who belongs in America and under what terms and conditions they belong. According to Stanford historian Kathryn Gin Lum in her latest book “Heathen: Religion and Race in American History,” these ideas and American conceptions of race can be traced back to the religious and racialized concept of the “heathen.”

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Nashville Food Project Founder's Battle With Cancer And Faith In Life Immortalized In Memoir

(REVIEW) Tallu Schuyler Quinn, founder of the Nashville Food Project, died at 42 after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. Her posthumous memoir, “What We Wish Were True: Reflections on Nurturing Life and Facing Death,” details her life and faith in intimate detail.

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Abortion In America Brings Up Both Spiritual And Legal Considerations

(ANALYSIS) There will be much we need to unpack in the days, weeks and years to come in this post-Roe era. In this moment, perhaps we can recognize that no one side owns the human spirit. Seeking the sacred in that which we hold dear, whether it is protecting the pre-born or advancing women’s well-being, or both, is an innate part of being human.

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Chicago Christians Reflect On Fourth Of July Parade Shooting That Claimed Seven Lives

Yet another American community — this time an affluent suburb about 25 miles north of Chicago — fell victim to a mass shooting. A gunman with a semi-automatic rifle unleashed more than 80 rounds from a rooftop perch, killing seven people and wounding dozens more at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade.

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Catholic Voters Down On Biden Ahead Of Midterms, Most Favor Abortion Rights With Limits

Four months before the midterm elections, Catholic voters are giving President Joe Biden a thumbs down, are evenly split when it comes for their support of Democrats and Republicans and have mixed opinions when it comes to abortion rights, according to a new poll.

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Gay Couple Preach To Chicago Catholic Parish On Father’s Day

(OPINION) Landon Duyka and Alex Shingleton had almost given up on Catholicism after years of being shunned for their sexuality. But then they found Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago, where their family was welcomed because the parish practices what its clergy calls “radical inclusivity.”

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Jan. 6 Hearings Highlight Politicians Who Had Received Support From Pro-Family Groups

Family Research Council’s website says it endorses “good policy makers” who support “faith, family, and freedom.” However, the House hearings suggest it endorsed officials whose loyalty to Trump led them to embrace illegal means to keep him in power. Here’s a look at some of the politicians who were on the hot seat during the recent hearings and their relationship to pro-family groups.

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Pro-Life Ministries Stay The Course To End Abortion In A Post-Roe Nation

With the United States Supreme Court’s decision last month in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case to overturn almost 50 years of a federally recognized right to abortion, anti-abortion ministries across the country are not closing their doors.

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FBI Raids Several House of Prayer Churches In Connection With Alleged GI Bill Fraud

The FBI has raided four churches in connection with an investigation into alleged abuses of the GI Bill education program by House of Prayer Christian Church’s Bible seminaries. GI Bill benefits help veterans pay for college, graduate school and training programs.

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Key Anti-Trump Evangelical Ponders What Seven Years Have Wrought In America

(OPINION) This is the 11th Guy Memo in a year guiding the media and other observers on dynamics within U.S. evangelical Protestantism. Though made up of organizationally chaotic fiefdoms, the movement’s impact rested upon substantial solidarity in belief and social outlook compared with other religious sectors. Then seven years ago the disruptive force known as Donald J. Trump emerged.

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What Can We Learn From Abortion Movies?

(ANALYSIS) After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion is a more divisive topic than ever. These abortion movies share three key insights about the debate and hopefully increase empathy on both sides.

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Christian Adoption Agencies Offer Insight Into Impact Of Abortion Bans, Restrictions

Christian adoption agencies help women with unplanned pregnancies make a way forward for themselves and their babies. But with new abortion restrictions, they are seeing a flood of new women seeking assistance.

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