(OPINION) Ravi Zacharias, known for turning "apologetics" (defense of the Christian faith) from defensive bombast to intelligent and personable persuasion through books, countless personal appearances worldwide and the global team of some 100 speakers he built — died last May. Though, the coverage of multiple sex scandals he was involved in during his lifetime still stains the news today.
Read More(OPINION) Evangelical megachurch leader, Max Lucado, spoke about the trials of 2020 and the coronavirus during his recent sermon streamed online by the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. last Sunday. This invitation to speak alarmed legions of Episcopalians opposed to his history of orthodoxy on sex and marriage to trigger an online storm.
Read More(OPINION) Increasingly, everyday citizens are falling prey to the cancel culture mob. But how can we reverse cancel culture? Some biblical principles can help.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the religion angles related to the winter storm that left millions without power in Texas. Plus, catch up on all the week’s top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) As churches shifted to virtual services during the COVID-19 crisis, much of evangelicalism transferred to the Internet. In a Barna study, researchers asked the question, is this virtual work being done during the pandemic going to actually bring people through the doors when the church opens back up?
Read More(OPINION) Conservative Christians propose that the final day of Trump’s campaign to overturn President Biden’s Electoral College victory involved religious “heresy” or “apostasy.” A survey by the conservative American Enterprise Institute shows 63% of White evangelicals think Biden’s win was illegitimate, despite the numerous federal and state court rulings that found no evidence for Trump’s claim of a “sacred landslide.” But to what extent were Christians implicated in the Capitol mayhem?
Read More(OPINION) How do you define anti-Semitism? Jews are wrestling with this idea as President Biden handles international relations with Israel. This leaves Jews asking, what constitutes fair political criticism of Israel and what is unfair — or biased — criticism of Israel that bleeds into hateful anti-Semitism?
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in explores the U.S. Supreme Court’s order stopping California’s ban on indoor worship in most of the state, while allowing a 25 percent capacity limit and a prohibition on singing and chanting. Plus, catch up on all the top reads in the week’s religion headlines.
Read More(OPINION) What has been the result of some Catholic news websites giving Trump any form of editorial support? Catholic news sites across the doctrinal spectrum should have done a better job calling out both sides — something the mainstream press no longer does, especially on moral, cultural and religious issues.
Read More(OPINION) Farah Shaheen, a 12-year-old Christian girl, was kidnapped from Faisalabad in June 2020 and abused by three men who chained her to a cattle pen. They claimed that she married one of her abductors, a 29-year-old Muslim man, of her own will. However, her family tells a different story.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Recent global headlines sparked by a former BBC reporter claimed that 750 Orthodox Christians were killed in northern Ethiopia, but there is not evidence of these deaths. Moreover, international media has mischaracterized the recent crisis in Ethiopia and ignored decades of history that’s pitted federal armed forces against the powerful, well-funded Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Read More(OPINION) President Biden, in his first hours in office, directed each government agency to spend the next 100 days reframing all gender policies surrounding transgender students. The backlash from other Catholics in power has brought further controversy about Biden being a “fake Catholic.”
Read MoreSince the fall of President Suharto in 1998 and especially since the establishment of regional autonomy in 2001, there has been controversy over the practice by many Indonesian public schools to require Muslims and non-Muslims to wear symbols related to religion, like a headscarf.
Read More(OPINION) Katherine Stewart, Times reporter outwardly against the Christian Right, makes the surprising assertion that to understand Sen. Josh Hawley’s role in the unprecedented furies of recent weeks we must look back 16 centuries to one of the hottest theological disputes in Christian history.
Read More(OPINION) Nearly half (49%) of participating pastors agreed with the statement: “I frequently hear members of my congregation repeating conspiracy theories they have heard about why something is happening in our country,” revealing that QAnon conspiracy theorists are spreading from the Internet to the pews.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Supreme Court recently reversed California’s discriminatory ban on indoor worship in a case brought by two churches against Governor Gavin Newsom. Here’s what the justices had to say, and what rules houses of worship must comply with during the pandemic.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It remains to be seen how the Biden administration will advance an approach to working together across differences, particularly between government and diverse faith-based and community-based organizations. Whatever approach the Biden administration takes, it will be building upon over two decades of bipartisan principles advancing faith-based and government collaboration.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in asks whether it’s accurate to say that Pope Francis is a “fan” of President Joe Biden, America’s second Catholic president. Plus, find links to all the week’s top religion reads.
Read More(ANALYISIS) Italian economist Mario Draghi is forming a new government at the president’s request after a collapse of the ruling coalition over its handling of the pandemic. How will Catholic Social Teaching factor in helping lockdown-weary Italians — from business owners to the unemployed — achieve economic stability? The answer can be found in a 2013 speech.
Read More(OPINION) A recent study released explained the sexual atrocities against Uyghur women in China. International bodies, such as the United Nations, have been greatly silent, with a few meaningless statements that do not follow with decisive actions to change the fate of the targeted communities.
Read More
