(OPINION) If you live in a major city of America, then you have probably been well aware of the Black Hebrew Israelites for a few decades. But for many other Americans, their numbers, their influence, and their beliefs are coming as quite a revelation — and a shocking one at that.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In her study of multiple SBNR identities, theologian Linda Mercadante found that the turn away from organized religion does not necessarily come at the expense of faith, ritual or practice. For “post-Christianity” seekers, Mercadante stresses how spiritual fulfillment moves from “religious and civic institutions to ‘gathering places.’”
Read More(ESSAY) What is now the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, has become a pilgrimage destination for some and an enigma to others. Mark Rothko has long been the mid-century artist whose work I thought had the most to say about the human condition. As a reader of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, Rothko often said that tragedy was at the heart of human experience — that in solitude our deep loneliness was palpable.
Read MoreThis week U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced a list of countries that the U.S. government considers “countries of particular concern” for religious freedom violations. Nigeria is notably absent, despite attacks so frequent that many Christian ministries have stopped serving some rural communities.
Read MoreRussia’s National Guard seized two priests in Russian-occupied Berdyansk on Nov. 16. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Donetsk Exarchate denies Russian claims that Father Ivan Levytsky and Father Bohdan Heleta stored explosives in the church and had “extremist” literature.
Read MoreMembers of Bethel — the 11,000-member northern California megachurch famous for elaborate healing services, Bethel Music and musician Sean Feucht’s nationwide worship protests against COVID restrictions — now hold the majority on the Redding City Council after November’s elections, according to nearly complete vote counts.
Read More(OPINION) All of us have been through a lot the past few years: a pandemic, insane political upheavals, inflation, general economic uncertainty. The problems we face are real, no question about that. But it’s also easy for us to overblow them, to obsess over the negatives and fail to recognize the positives.
Read More(REVIEW) Well-known Christian filmmaker Jon Erwin and friends have been on a bit of a kick in recent years to showcase the faith of the heroes of their youth. “Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon” is the latest, a documentary that shows how faith impacted the country star’s life. It’s solid, but it fails to serve as the testimony to God it thinks it does.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Nov. 24, 2022, the U.N. Human Rights Council held a special session to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Read MoreThe Ebenezer Building Foundation, whose principal officer is the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the U.S. Senator from Georgia facing a runoff election in December, is the subject of an inquiry by Georgia’s secretary of state.
Read MoreAbout 18% of the leaders of Christian nonprofit ministries are women, according to a recent MinistryWatch survey of the country’s largest 1,000 ministries. The disparity in the business world is about three times greater. According to the Pew Research Center, only 5.4% of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies have women as their CEOs.
Read MoreThe start of the pandemic in March 2020 forced churches across the world to shut their doors. Catholic churches followed suit and Masses were streamed via Zoom and Facebook. Nearly three years later and churches are trying to return to normal.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the latest news in the Southern Baptist Convention’s ongoing sexual abuse crisis. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) The linchpin of N.T. Wright’s scholarship is his unusual theory about what Jesus was actually doing here 2,000 years ago. His radical view is that Jesus wasn’t primarily concerned about taking his followers to heaven. Instead, Jesus meant to bring heaven to Earth, to fulfill the Hebrew scriptures and Jewish traditions by uniting the two domains — heaven and Earth — into one kingdom.
Read MoreA new statue in London’s iconic Trafalgar Square has sparked an unlikely controversy. At center stage is the life of Baptist preacher and Malawian national hero John Chilembwe. He was killed leading a rebellion against British colonial authorities during World War I.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Eighty years ago, in November 1942, the Nazis occupied Tunisia. For the next six months, Tunisian Jews and Muslims were subjected to the Third Reich’s reign of terror, as well as its antisemitic and racist legislation. Residents lived in fear – “under the Nazi boot,” as Tunisian Jewish lawyer Paul Ghez wrote in his diary during the occupation.
Read MoreWassim Razzouk and his sons are carrying their family’s Egyptian Coptic Christian tattooing tradition into its eighth century in Jerusalem’s Old City. ReligionUnplugged.com talked to Razzouk to learn more about his family history, the craft of tattooing, why Christian megachurch pastors and Catholic priests are coming to his shop and promoting the Razzouks on social media and how the Coptic faith propels his family business.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops assembled in Baltimore to elect a new president. Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Services, tasked with overseeing Catholic ministries to members of the U.S. armed forces, was elected to lead the USCCB. What does it mean for the Catholic Church in the United States?
Read MoreAuthor and activist Shane Claiborne believes Christians astray are a bigger problem than secularization in the United States. The latest stop: Trenton, the capital of the state of New Jersey. It might sound nice. But it doesn’t look very nice.
Read MoreCardinal Joseph Zen, a humanitarian and the outspoken critic of China’s Communist Party, was found guilty on charges relating to his role in a relief fund used by members of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protest movement. The 90-year-old and five others were found guilty for failing to register the now-defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund” used to pay protesters’ legal fees.
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