How the Pope and an American Cardinal Ignited New Debates On Sex And The Eucharist

(OPINION) When popes talk about sex, it tends to make headlines. This was certainly true when Pope Francis told The Associated Press last month the Catholic Church opposes criminalizing homosexuality and that “we are all children of God, and God loves us as we are.” The pope then noted that homosexual activity is “not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin.”

Walking To New York City From Washington D.C. At A Spiritual Speed

(REVIEW) In his new book coming out in April called “American Ramble,” Neil King Jr. has crafted a travelogue fit for a reporter and a monk, built on paying close attention during a 26-day walk he took to New York City from Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2021.

FBI Fears Faithful Catholics: These Colleges Are The Cells Of Orthodoxy

(OPINION) Apparently hoping to draw further congressional attention to its politicization, the FBI is reportedly warning of “radical traditionalist Catholics” who might become White supremacists. An FBI field office in Virginia compiled its intelligence bulletin using the discredited and professional grifting organization the Southern Poverty Law Center. It also cited an Atlantic article that referred to the rosary, a set of prayer beads, as a “weapon.”

Jewish Fashion Photographer Erwin Blumenfeld On Display At Paris Museum

(REVIEW) Erwin Blumenfeld was the perfect fashion photographer. The Museum of the Art and History of Judaism in Paris is showcasing this work in over 180 photographs with the temporary exhibit “The Trials and Tribulations of Erwin Blumenfeld, 1930-1950.” It spans Blumenfeld’s most active and influential period.

We All Fall, But If We’re Lucky We Fall Upward

(OPINION) In the first part of life, we’re controlled by the fear-based preoccupations of the lizard brain. This is natural. Then, at some point, something happens — usually a cataclysmic fall. Such a fall can destroy us if we let it. But it also can serve as an upward call.

For Christians In Memphis, Tyre Nichols’ Death A Cause For Concern and Action

A picture of Tyre Nichols in his hospital bed greeted a recent assembly of the Coleman Avenue Church of Christ. The same big screen displayed photos of five Memphis police officers charged with murder in the 29-year-old Black man’s death.

AI, The Rise Of Religious ‘Nones’ And The Artifice Of Intelligence

(OPINION) Artificial intelligence technologies are bad when they become an artifice, which means contrived or false. The artifice of intelligence makes people “see only what new technologies can do and are incapable of imagining what they will undo.”

An Indonesian Tradition Of Digging Up Dead Relatives For A Spirited Afterlife Ritual

In the unusual tradition of Ma’nene in South Sulawesi of Indonesia's Toraja region, families lovingly clean, dress up and even put cigarettes in the mouths of the exhumed bodies of their dead relatives. This photo essay and video offers ReligionUnplugged.com readers a glimpse of this unique religious and cultural ceremony.

Myanmar: Death And Destruction Two Years After The Tatmadaw’s Coup

(ANALYSIS) Marking the two years of the Tatmadaw in power, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that, to date, the military coup has led to the death of around 3,000 civilians as well as the destruction of villages and houses of worship in various parts of the country.

Does ‘He Gets Us’ Get It? And Reflecting On YouVersion’s Record Day

(ANALYSIS) Now, missiologists — the people who study missionary efforts and their effectiveness — are weighing in on the He Gets Us campaign, and they’re finding flaws, or at least gaps, in the Jesus the campaign is pushing.

Why Foreign Aid Is Not Changing Africa And What Can Be Done

(OPINION) The goal of aid is to end situations that lead to aid. It is estimated that the West has given $1.2 trillion in aid and development assistance to Africa since 1990 according to Greg Mills in the book “Expensive Poverty.” Much of that aid came from the U.S. But sadly the foreign aid has had little or no impact on bettering the lives of poor Africans.

🏈 100 Million Super Bowl Viewers Expected To See Jesus — And Two Christian Quarterbacks 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the religion angles in this weekend’s Super Bowl. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

When Prayer Become Acceptable To The NFL

(OPINION) The establishment was shocked when players and coaches from Denver and Washington, D.C., held a prayer meeting on the eve of the 1988 Super Bowl. But the electric wave of prayer that swept America after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s heart-stopping injury was a “critical mass” moment and a sign of changing times — maybe.

‘The Banshees Of Inisherin’ Asks The Question: Does God Care About Miniature Donkeys?

(REVIEW) Ever get the sinking feeling that your friends don’t like you? That every time you talk, they’re just wishing you’d shut up — that they’re even timing how long you talk? Or worse: have you always thought you had a friend until, one day, they just told you they didn’t like you anymore? That horrifying premise is the driving force behind Martin McDonagh’s heartbreakingly bloody friendship breakup “The Banshees of Inisherin.”

Whistleblower Details New Allegations About $100 Billion LDS Fund

A former employee of a $100 billion investment fund owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has submitted a memorandum to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee about the operations of the Salt Lake City, Utah, based Ensign Peak Advisors Inc. The 90-page memorandum obtained by ReligionUnplugged.com “summarizes evidence of false statements, systematic accounting fraud, private inurement violations of the Internal Revenue Code and other federal statutes and a ‘Klein conspiracy’ by Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (‘EPA’) and others.”

Is The End Of Journalistic Objectivity The Reason Catholic Church Vandalism Isn't A Big Story?

(OPINION) Old-school objectivity in journalism appears to be dead. My proof for that statement is that the ongoing vandalism of churches is a major story, but one that elite newsroom professionals have decided is a right-wing political talking point. If this isn’t a flaw in the current way journalists do things, then expect for more readers to look elsewhere for information.

No, The Holocaust Is Not Just One Of Many Tragic Events Of Human History

(OPINION) According to a tone-deaf editorial published on Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Kentucky Courier Journal, “Jews do not have a monopoly on persecution and atrocities,” and “Hitler was just one of many dictators.” But it is right and fitting to commemorate the singular sufferings of particular people or nations, as in the Holocaust.

‘The Chosen’ Wraps Up An Uneven Season With A Worthy Bang

(REVIEW) "The Chosen" wraps up an uneven third season in a triumphant manner, highlighting all the strengths and weaknesses of what might be the biggest faith-based project ever made.

'Left Behind: Rise Of The Antichrist' The Latest Installment In Apocalyptic Thriller Franchise

(REVIEW) “Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist,” the new movie about the end of the world as told in the Bible, has it all: boring action sequences, jokes about the COVID-19 vaccine, altar calls, a postscript message from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a joke about former president Barack Obama being the Antichrist, a painfully clunky script and even a Romanian politician who has a bland American accent.

Why Do Modern Christians Favor, Or Oppose, Same-Sex Marriage?

(OPINION) The teaching against gay and lesbian sexual relationships stood essentially unquestioned for 2,000 years, but now that’s changing. Still, on the global level, some 2 billion people belong to Christian traditions where there’s no prospect of any major change, though individual members dissent. The same is true for a billion Muslims.

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