(OPINION) There was nothing unusual in the early 1970s about a student hearing one of his professors preach during chapel. But one sermon — “How Would You Like to Die?” — impressed the seminarian who would later become United Methodist Bishop Timothy Whitaker of Florida. Theologian Claude H. Thompson had terminal cancer and, a few months later, his funeral was held in the same chapel at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta.
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(OPINION) Here’s why we fast on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar — but we don’t always pray, repent or ask for forgiveness.
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(OPINION) On Aug. 28, I conducted a poll on X (formerly known as Twitter), asking, “As a voter, what is the single most important factor or quality you’re looking for in a presidential candidate?” The four choices were integrity/character, good policies, backbone or unifier.
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(OPINION) A friend asked what I thought about the recent “dust up,” as she called it, at Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County, Kentucky, deep in the Appalachian mountains. There, The Waymakers Collective turned a chapel into a “healing space,” decorating it “with pillows, mats, a table of aromatic oils and an ‘om’ symbol, which symbolizes the universe in the Hindu religion.”
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(OPINION) Consider a sobering new study — “The Great Dechurching. Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back” — by researchers Jim Davis, Michel Graham and Ryan Burge. Their numbers indicate that evangelicalism has backslid to where it was 50 years ago.
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(OPINION) Starting on Friday evening — and again the evening of Sept. 24 — Jews around the world will be filing into synagogues to mark their “Days of Awe” — the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For many who observe these holidays in the United States, the Days of Awe will be the only time that they visit a synagogue this year. Only 1 in 5 American Jews attend services once a month or more.
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(OPINION) In a divided America, music is just another means of dividing based on political affiliation and race. While country music has the image of being “All-American,” hip-hop often sheds light on the social injustices to minority people. When listening to music, it can seem as if there is no unity among people from different backgrounds. However, Gangstagrass is fighting back against that narrative by bringing people from two different genres together.
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(OPINION) The famed writer Ernest Hemingway was not necessarily a religious man — but he was a deep thinker and realized that human beings crave long-term satisfaction. In his famous book “The Sun Also Rises,” he understood that the pursuit of meaning in life is frustrating and intricate.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights new survey findings concerning post-pandemic worship attendance and giving. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(TRAVEL) In addition to its charming architecture, close proximity to nature and signature miniature canals, the city is known for the well-respected University of Freiburg. During my exchange program, I spent quite a bit of time in the university’s energy-efficient, futuristic-looking library.
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(OPINION) In terms of Islamic doctrine, alcohol is “haram,” or forbidden, and the Quran is blunt: “O ye who believe! Strong drink and games of chance and idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan’s handiwork.” But it isn’t hard to find Muslims who have never boarded that bandwagon.
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(OPINION) How should we pray for the 2024 elections? Should we pray for a particular candidate (or, in the case of the nonpresidential elections, candidates) to win? Should we pray for specific issues and ask God to raise up those who will do the best job on those particular issues? Or should we simply pray, “Your will be done, Lord”?
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the return of a high school football coach who won a U.S. Supreme Court case, allowing him to pray on the field. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Many Islamic leaders were surprised that some officials in Maryland and elsewhere now assume that Muslims concerned about “parental rights” and religious liberty have embraced the religious right or white supremacy.
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(OPINION) We never hear things exactly as they are. We hear thing as we are, through the presumptions and biases residing in our heads. We’re inclined to make others responsible for our angers, our hurts and our grudges. How do we become better listeners, really hearing instead of simply confirming our own preexisting blind spots and wounds?
Read More(OPINION) The uncomfortable problem is that so many faith-based “true story films” turn out to be either totally made up or highly deceptive. For Christians, however, this poses some problems. The Bible is explicitly against lying and repeatedly warns against being deceived.
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(OPINION) If you, like me, think faith in God and religious affiliation are generally good things for people, then you, like me, ought to feel unsettled by the findings of political scientist Ryan Burge. He argues that religious participation in the United States is now largely the domain of the educated and comfortable, rather than a buttress for those on the margins of society, who historically were the core audience for Christianity.
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(OPINION) This is part of what constitutes freedom of religion and expression: Vulgar, disrespectful, derogatory and critical expressions about religion and other worldviews are unavoidable in an open and free society. Freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religious criticism.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights religion angles at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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Oliver Anthony counted about 20 listeners when he performed earlier this summer at a produce market in coastal North Carolina. That was before Aug. 8, when YouTube channel radio posted his “Rich Men North Of Richmond” video. More than 35 million views later, as of this week, the unknown country singer from Farmville, Virginia, has become a culture-wars lightning rod.
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