(ANALYSIS) Rocker Steve Taylor penned a snarky tribute in 1985 called, “Used To Be A Cute Cathedral.” Four decades later, the song surfaced during online chatter about dance nights held earlier this month inside Canterbury Cathedral, the Church of England’s most hallowed sanctuary.
Read MoreIt was quite a week for Javier Milei. Not only did he visit Israel in a show of support; the recently-elected Argentine president then flew to Vatican City, where he made peace with Pope Francis. While Milei is a Catholic, he hasn’t been shy about criticizing the pontiff in the past while also flirting with the idea of converting to Judaism.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Feb. 15, 2015, both were among the men beheaded by Islamic State soldiers on a beach in Libya. All 21 — 20 Egyptian Copts and a Ghanan who professed his Christian faith — were soon declared martyrs by the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Read MoreFollowing a vote by CUNY’s Board of Trustees, Chancellor Felix Matos Rodríguez said on Wednesday that the the New York City system will become one of the first in the nation to designate Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year and Diwali as holidays on the school calendar.
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 don’t appreciate efforts that, in the end, might do more harm than good.
Read MoreIn China, people celebrate Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, but there are at least three holidays and cultural traditions centered on romantic love. A figure that ties together these other holidays is the Old Man Under the Moon — Yuexia Laoren in Mandarin, or Yuelao for short — who is believed to be a divine matchmaker.
Read More(ANALYSIS) If punk music is about being countercultural, then religious punk is, perhaps, the most punk of all. In an increasingly secular world, to deviate from secularism is to embrace the outcast mentality. The rebels of today, it seems, are those pitting themselves against a purely material reality.
Read MoreValentine’s Day often revives attention on romantic themes in literature. Stories are cited in media with the aim of helping people navigate the demands of the human heart on a day that has become intimately associated with romantic love. One literary tradition rarely highlighted is that of Hindu “bhakti” or ecstatic devotion, which birthed some of the most stirring mystical poetry composed in the world.
Read MoreAuthorities said a woman opened fire with an AR-15 on celebrity televangelist Joel Osteen’s Texas megachurch — one of the largest in the country — before two-off duty police officers shot and killed the suspect. The officers’ actions, police said, averted what could have been a bigger tragedy.
Read MoreHere’s another matter seemingly unrelated to religion. Why care about a pending bill in Congress deals with electromagnetic fields in hybrid and electric vehicles?
Read More(OPINION) Few issues in religion have been as remarked upon and puzzled over lately as the rapid rise of “nones,” those who claim no religious affiliation. I’ve written about this before, I realize, but it’s a news story that just keeps developing.
Read MoreForget celebrating Valentines Day with cards, red roses and chocolates, the eastern English country of Norfolk has a very different custom dating back centuries. This mysterious, sometimes mischievous, character placed little gifts on doorsteps, knocked and then disappeared before the door was opened. Enter Jack Valentine.
Read More(REVIEW) The series deserves applause for dealing with difficult social and theological topics and for the ways it gets them right. But its agonizing repetitiveness and its social and theological missteps need to be noted as well so that we make sure we can actually solve the problems it is so eager to critique.
Read MoreThis month, a troupe of these pro-Trump “prophets” are headlining seven election-year live events called FlashPoint LIVE to spread the above gospel and “rescue America,” according to ads for the tour. The personalities and themes of the tour are borrowed from “FlashPoint,” a Christian current-events program that appears on the VICTORY television channel, owned by controversial Texas televangelist Kenneth Copeland.
Read MoreA modern farming campaign launched six years ago by the Anglican Church of Uganda to transform lives affected by the the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda has started paying off. As a result, farmers have received quality seeds and hybrid animals such as pigs and cattle to rear.
Read MoreAmong China’s traditional holidays and celebrations, none ranks higher in importance than the Lunar New Year (農曆新年). Also known as the Spring Festival (春節), or simply Chinese New Year, it marks the beginning of the year according to the traditional lunar calendar.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Armenian quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City is facing its biggest crisis in a long time. A Jewish businessman with connections to the radical settler movement is poised to develop a quarter of the neighborhood’s territory, with plans to build a luxury hotel. If this goes ahead, it will significantly change part of the Old City.
Read MoreAhead of the Super Bowl, this week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the rise of sports betting and people of faith’s 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: “As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do.” But here’s the question that was at the heart of this week’s “Crossroads” podcast: Why was this Pamela Paul essay in the opinion section, as opposed to being a hard-news report out front?
Read MoreInspired by a variety of religious and mystical traditions, the artist Marina Abramović has spent the last 50 years pushing her body and mind to their limits in performances that have captivated audiences around the world. This spring, one of the largest retrospectives of the artist’s work opens at The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
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