To a visitor, Dennis and Cindi Cesone’s friendliness and welcoming smiles are evident immediately. The fact both were born deaf is not. For years, the Cesones — each of whom learned to speak and read lips as children — have worked to bridge the cultural gap between hearing and deaf Christians.
Read MoreAccording to the latest figures given in the Parliament, the region with a population of 14 million has almost 1 million drug addicts. The consequence of such a massive upswing in drug addiction has taken a heavy toll on a society pounded by conflict and political uncertainty.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Secrets of Hillsong” uncovers Hillsong culture, abuse and Carl Lentz. The four-part documentary dropped on May 19th. Since Carl Lentz’s fall from grace due to his affair with Ranin Karim, many celebrity gossip and media voices have chimed in to tell Lentz’s story. For the first time since the scandals, both Carl and Laura Lentz tell their own stories in the documentary.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Baseball, and specifically the Los Angeles Dodgers, became the focus of controversy over the last two weeks when the team invited, then uninvited, and then issued a welcome once again a group known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a well-known San Francisco group of queer and transgender people dressed as nuns at the team’s annual Pride Night on June 16.
Read More(PHOTO STORY) On Nyepi, which is the most special day of the year in the Balinese Saka Calendar, the island of Bali turns off all lights and sounds, stops all traffic, renounces all worldly activities, and meditates while silence and serenity reign over the entire island.
Read More(OPINION) Starting with a band of Anglicans landing at Jamestown in 1607 and then Pilgrim dissenters at Plymouth in 1620, various forms of Protestantism collectively dominated what became the United States. But the Religious Landscape Study from the Pew Research Center tells us the U.S. population is now only 46.6% Protestant.
Read More(Religious Liter-AI-cy): In comparison with Siri, Alexa’s answers were very winsome and detail oriented. She elaborates more on the answers to the questions asked, often without making a reference to a specific web source, making the interview more seamless and in depth. Alexa seems more intelligent and, dare I say, personal.
Read More(OPINION) An extensive new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute finds that only 16% of Americans say religion is the most important thing in their lives. But what could 50 million gracious, merciful disciples do for this country today, if they really got focused on loving their neighbors and making peace and preaching good news instead of gloom and despair?
Read MoreOne of the most majestic displays of religious art a visitor can find in Naples — if not anywhere in the Catholic world — is known as the “Treasure of San Gennaro.” Located in Naples’ historic city center (which is also famous for artisans and nativity scenes), the area has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the faith of the two newest candidates to declare for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreThe gangsterism style of rape dwindled when South Africa gained its freedom on April 27, 1994. Yet, rape is coming to a rise in a different dimension. Many homes are affected by fathers and brothers who are victimizing and raping their own wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. What is now appalling is the reported recurring incidents of rapes that women and children suffer at the hands of some of the clergy.
Read More(REVIEW) The “Avatar” franchise contains two of the highest-grossing movies in history. Its spiritual influences and concern for the environment are two of the franchise’s most notable themes, and they are inextricable from real world events in the modern day.
Read More(TRAVEL) In the beginning of Revelation, John issues letters of encouragement, admonition and warning that he says Jesus instructed him to write to seven church communities in the Roman province of Asia Minor, which is now Turkey. The churches were: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.Remnants of these cities from the New Testament can still be found on Turkey’s Western coast, hundreds of miles across the country from where the devastating earthquake occurred in February.
Read More(OPINION) Only 1% of New York City was “evangelical” when Keller arrived in 1989, and homicides hit 2,245 during his first full year of ministry in the tense city. Yet there was a “cracking in the ice” as immigrants from a variety of faiths poured into the city’s boroughs. Soon, many new churches were born.
Read MoreLutefisk is a tradition I found out, but it’s reserved for the late fall and early winter celebrations. You cannot get it over July 4th weekend, sorry to say. Nevertheless, I pressed on to learn about the culture of lutefisk, Lutheranism and other elements of the faith-inflected Scandinavian ways of the upper Midwest.
Read More(OPINION) For generations, Indigenous people have been asking for objects taken during colonization of their traditional homelands to be returned. Some of the objects are sacred, but also many items are human remains. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples said human remains and funerary objects should be returned to the individual tribes.
Read More(OPINION) Because a key tenet of Quakerism is continuing revelation, Quakerism has become a safe place to explore spiritual journeys and learn what your own Inner Light is saying to you. It was the echo I saw between the early Quakers and the current seekers and the need I saw for an in-flesh community that led me to advocate for a workshop to explore those ideas.
Read More(REVIEW) More books have been written about St. Francis of Assisi than virtually any other historical figure after Jesus Christ. In the Italian town of his birth, he is even the subject of an entire bookstore. As this enthralling exhibition at The National Gallery demonstrates, the revered saint also captured the imaginations of artists who have for generations told his remarkable story without the need for words.
Read More(OPINION) Many years ago as a consultant, I joked with colleagues about our tongue-in-cheek disclaimer for final reports: “We have not succeeded in solving your problem. We are still confused, but we are confused at a much higher level.” Generative artificial intelligence (the kind behind chatbots) has the ability to confuse us all at much higher levels!
Read More(REVIEW) The summer is synonymous with reading on the beach or near the pool. So here are three new books to consider adding to your list. While many seek mindless books to indulge in during this time of year, these will make you think and reflect about yourself and the world around you.
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