(OPINION) The Jerusalem cross raised bed has four quadrants facing west, north, east and south â each representing one of natureâs four seasons (fall, winter, spring and summer) â and one of the four Christian Gospels (Matthew, Mark, John and Luke/Acts). These will serve as a compass for a journey of inner transformation.
Read MoreThis weekâs Weekend Plug-in highlights five takeaways from the shooting at Joel Osteenâs Lakewood Church. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) I appreciate every effort to make Jesus known to a world that does know who He really is, especially to a world that has false perceptions about Him. I appreciate those who are willing to think outside the box and find unconventional ways to get people interested in hearing about the Savior. And I appreciate Christians who are willing to invest large amounts of money to reach massive secular audiences. But I donât appreciate efforts that, in the end, might do more harm than good.
Read More(OPINION) Few issues in religion have been as remarked upon and puzzled over lately as the rapid rise of ânones,â those who claim no religious affiliation. Iâve written about this before, I realize, but itâs a news story that just keeps developing.
Read MoreAhead of the Super Bowl, this weekâs Weekend Plug-in highlights the rise of sports betting and people of faithâs stance on it. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreIt was a New York Times headline that created tremors online: âAs Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do.â But hereâs the question that was at the heart of this weekâs âCrossroadsâ podcast: Why was this Pamela Paul essay in the opinion section, as opposed to being a hard-news report out front?
Read More(OPINION) Godâs pruning is more painful than pleasant, but it is an act of love, making us less for the moment â sometimes quite radically less â in order to make more of us in the future.
Read MoreAs GetReligion.org disbands, something like this website has never been more needed. Will anyone again provide informed running assessments of this complex and emotion-laden journalistic beat?
Read More(OPINION) Love sure didnât save the â60s, but wouldnât it be nice to imagine love might save us now? Yeah, I know itâs too much to ask. Humans by and large arenât geared that way. But an old man can dream just as easily as a 9-year-old can. I think sometimes that part of what keeps love from winning on this troubled planet is that most of us donât even understand what true love looks like.
Read MoreThis weekâs Weekend Plug-in opens with the top headlines from the International Religious Freedom Summit. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and big news in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Evangelicalism may be confusing in terms of organizations and fiefdoms, but since World War II it has developed into the largest and most dynamic force in American religion, striding into the hole in the public square created by the decline of the old mainline. Also, evangelicalism has been the most disruptive, and certainly one of the evident, influences within the Republican Party.
Read More(OPINION) I finally got the coronavirus. But thanks to the luck of not getting it in 2020, say, and thanks to the hard work of public health officials, and thanks to vaccines and antivirals, I knew I wasnât likely to end up on a ventilator or in a coffin, even though Iâm an at-risk patient.
Read MoreThis weekâs Weekend Plug-in features a retrospective from columnist Bobby Ross Jr. on his 25 years on the Godbeat. Plus, a major new study on ânonesâ â and, as always, all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) It seems to me that the pro-life movement has lost its way. Sure, there are outward signs of success. Roe v. Wade was overturned. Roe was a bad decision, and overturning it was a good thing. But â as I have written elsewhere â we are now discovering that how one wins is as important as what one wins.
Read More(OPINION) With its digital homage to the late Paul Harvey's âSo God Made a Farmerâ soliloquy, the âGod Made Trumpâ video drew roars of support at key Iowa rallies for Donald Trump. âAnd on June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, âI need a caretaker,â so God gave us Trump,â said the majestic voice.
Read More(OPINION) When it comes to the term âevangelical,â it is not so much that it is a potentially ambiguous term (like âChristianâ) as it is a misleading term â a term that has become cultural and political more than spiritual.
Read More(OPINION) The teachings of most religions and denominations encourage, if not command, followers to care for Godâs creation. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, many houses of worship have taken the message of environmental sustainability to heart. They tend to start with improving the day-to-day behaviors of their congregations.
Read More(OPINION) An article by Kelsey Dallas in the Deseret News asks, âCan you be a Christian and play a sinful character on TV?â Dallas then notes that, âAlan Ritchson, the star of âReacher,â says you certainly can, and heâs unhappy with âsupposed Christiansâ who have a problem with him taking on a âmorally ambiguousâ role.â
Read More(OPINION) If you ever get a wild hair to try something really spiritual, try this. Think of the people whoâve done you dirty. We tend to keep a long list somewhere in our heads of people whoâve royally messed us over, bad guys weâd love to see get theirs.
Read More(OPINION) A church in my neighborhood has a cell phone tower in its parking lot. Some neighbors objected to its construction, but the church, perhaps driven by financial concerns, prevailed. The cell phone tower may be a prophetic witness to the religion of the future, which according to historian Yuval Noah Harari is likely to be data driven.
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