War Brings Focus On Presidential Candidate Cornel West, A Key Religious Left Voice

(OPINION) Never assume that America’s third parties don’t matter. Especially in a topsy-turvy political season like this one. After all, some figure that Jill Stein’s 1% in three swing states produced Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, or that Ralph Nader’s 1.6% in Florida elected Bush 43 in 2000, or that Ross Perot’s 19% elected Clinton over incumbent Bush 41 in 1992.

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As Black Church Grapples With Mental Health, Clergy Are Both Subject And Solution

The silence in the Black community about suicide goes beyond faith, Procter said. The history of oppression has made having resilience and mental strength — or at least being perceived to — a necessity for survival. “We don’t talk about mental health, we don’t talk about suicide,” said Procter. “If we’ve lost someone to suicide, we go, ‘The person passed away.’”

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An Apostolic Vision Of ‘The Exorcist’ As Horror Classic Turns 50

(OPINION) William Peter Blatty was pounding out the first pages of "The Exorcist" when his telephone rang — bringing the news that his mother had died. The screenwriter was already digging into dark material by writing a fictional take on an exorcism case he heard discussed during his Georgetown University days.

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Disney’s New Movie ‘Wish’ And Its Anti-Christian Messages

(REVIEW) Christians have always had a love-hate relationship with Disney since I can remember. Growing up in the Christian culture of the 1990s and early 2000s, all the Christian parents I knew loved watching Disney movies with their kids — but have always had an uncomfortable relationship with some of its messaging.

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Faith, Family and Foul Play: Exploring The Modern-Day Contradictions Of Thanksgiving

(REVIEW) There’s a picture-perfect version of Thanksgiving that exists in cartoons of overflowing cornucopias and naively cheerful turkeys. It’s meant to celebrate a bountiful harvest, a good meal and time together with loved ones. The real Thanksgiving is a lot more complicated — and unpleasant. A new movie out now captures just that.

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Why Native American Heritage Month Is Complicated

(ANALYSIS) November is Native American Heritage Month, an interesting if not complex time to celebrate Indigenous people. Many Indigenous people complain about November being selected for the celebration — to many Native people, Thanksgiving is a reminder of the attempted genocide of many tribes by the settlers they helped, not to mention the theft of homelands and children stolen for boarding schools. 

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Dolly Parton Picks Christian University To Display Her ‘Life In Rhinestones’

Everything at the ribbon-cutting for Dolly Parton’s new exhibit was high fashion — including the ribbon. The country music legend grasped a large pair of scissors alongside Lipscomb University President Candice McQueen. They struggled just a bit to slice through the pink and gold sash, bedecked with butterflies.

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What A Gathering of 1967 Impalas Reveals About Fandom And Religion

(ANALYSIS) Among the many spooky events happening last month was the biannual “Haunting of Impalas” at Family Business Brewing, a 15-acre brewery in Dripping Springs, Texas, owned by actor and musician Jensen Ackles. Along with Jared Padalecki, Ackles is the star of “Supernatural,” a television series that ran from 2005 to 2020.

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The Religious Freedom Native Americans Enjoy Should Make Us All Grateful

(ANALYSIS) Despite the First Amendment, the United States' federal policy toward Native Americans and native religions has been inconsistent. In 1978, Congress passed and President Jimmy Carter signed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. It recognized that government policy had inhibited the practice of Native American religions, including access to sacred sites.

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Unthanksgiving Day: A Celebration Of Indigenous Resistance Held Annually At Alcatraz

(ANALYSIS) Each year on the fourth Thursday of November, when many people start to take stock of the marathon day of cooking ahead, Indigenous people from diverse tribes and nations gather at sunrise in San Francisco Bay. Their gathering is meant to mark a different occasion — the Indigenous People’s Thanksgiving Sunrise Ceremony

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El Crítico Del Papa Javier Milei Elegido Nuevo Presidente De Argentina

En un resultado sorprendente que pocos habrían predicho hace apenas unos meses, el economista libertario y exfutbolista Javier Milei fue elegido presidente de Argentina — un resultado que en muchos sentidos puede verse como un referéndum en la agenda política y social del Papa Francisco en su nación de origen.

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Ministry And Music Propel Cuban Devoted To Sharing Bread Of Life

The Versalles Church of Christ, about 60 miles east of Havana, hosted the joyous areawide gathering at a time of extreme economic crisis for this Caribbean island nation. In such a stressful time, minister Tony Fernandez, 50, said he focuses on sharing the bread of life with fellow Cubans who often do not have enough bread.

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Pope Basher Javier Milei Elected Argentina’s New President

Libertarian economist and former soccer player Javier Milei was elected Argentina's president, a result that in many ways can be seen as a referendum on Pope Francis’ social agenda in his home nation.

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How To Identify A ‘True’ Christian, If Indeed You Can Even Find One

(OPINION) An editor friend forwarded me an email he’d received. The original sender said he was reading articles about how intertwined Christians are these days with secular politics and found the subject very confusing. He suggested that somebody ought to explain how to identify a genuine Christian as opposed, I assume, to people only using faith to further their political agenda.

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Sermons On Hate Still Resonate 60 Years After JFK’s Assassination

On the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s death, a leading scholar on faith and politics sees lessons for Americans today. “One overarching theme emerges again and again: A call for civility, a call for condemnation of extremism and a call to end the divisions and polarizations,” said Matthew Wilson, director of Southern Methodist University’s Center for Faith and Learning.

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Pregnancy Resource Centers Save Lives And Change Hearts And Minds

(OPINION) For decades, the pro-life movement in America was essentially a grassroots movement. The soul of this movement was compassion. That compassion was most evident in the network of more than 3,000 pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) that had grown up around the nation. Many of them have been part of two large networks called Care Net and Heartbeat International.

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Unintended Consequences Of Martin Luther’s Reformation

(OPINION) In the years following Martin Luther’s 95 theses, Luther was shocked by much of what he saw. What followed were uprisings so brutal and bloody that Luther himself condemned the rebels in terms so hysterical that even his admirers were taken back.

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Why People Switch Churches And The High Hopes That Come With Such Changes

Adult churchgoers in the United States infrequently switch churches. But if they make a congregational change, it’s likely they made a residential change first. And those who switch have high expectations for their new congregation.

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