(ANALYSIS) An important piece of early Christian history, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, is up for auction at Christieâs in London. This codex is a mid-fourth century book from Egypt containing a combination of biblical and other early Christian texts.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In religion, what goes down can always come up again. American religions continue to face persistent skepticism from elite culture, education and entertainment along with long-term internal damage from sexual abuse scandals and disputes over sexual morality and Trumpism that are not disappearing. Also, stated identity in polls does not make up for sagging in-person attendance and donations that erode organized religion.
Read MoreClaudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, won a landslide victory on Sunday to become Mexico's first female president. Sheinbaum, won the presidency with nearly 60% of the vote, defeating opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez. She is also Jewish in a country that is majority Catholic.
Read More(OPINION) After his victorious bout in a major combat sports event this past Saturday night, UFC fighter Bassil Hafez said, âThere is something I wanna say. I have been having it in my heart for a long time. I donât support genocide. I donât support innocent women and children being killed for war and for money and power. We are all Godâs children and we all deserve a fair chance in life. Free Palestine.â While Hafez didnât mention Israel by name, his message was clear. Israel is committing genocide.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This is the question that I have been thinking about ever since Memorial Day: What role do movie theaters play in Godâs glorious and fallen creation? Yes, thatâs a strange question. Let me explain. Back in my professor days when I taught Introduction to Mass Communication 101, I explained the whole âtechnology shapes cultureâ equation (again, think âthe medium is the messageâ) by asking a series of questions.
Read MoreThousands of people from across the globe will descend on the city thatâs home to the Eiffel Tower for the Olympics. The IMB has ministered at many Olympics, and volunteers whoâve traveled to the global cities have long been crucial to its ministry strategy. While ministry has been successful, interactions are often fleeting as visitors scatter. Thatâs where digital engagement strategies come in.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Civic engagement â including volunteering and registering to vote â rather than religiosity was more correlated with giving by Muslim American women, according to research we conducted with our colleagues at the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative. Muslims are required to contribute zakat, a form of giving. To meet this obligation, Muslims are required to give 2.5 percent of their wealth to charities.
Read More(OPINION) In my observation, core spiritual truths are applicable to nearly every arena of life, not just to religion but also to business, education or politics. Theyâre as beneficial to those who donât believe in God as to those who go to church three times a week. I think of these as universal laws. Theyâre woven into the world we inhabit as surely as the law of gravity. One of these universal truths is the principle of balance.
Read MoreAndrew Rootâs âThe Church in an Age of Secular Mysticismsâ (Baker Academic, 2023) includes some ponderous writing but a central concept well worth pondering. Root asks us not to think of politics and culture not as a battle of socialistic secularists versus MAGA right-wingers but as a pyramid. Two secular philosophies are on the bottom: âExclusive Humanistsâ on the left and âCounter-Enlightenmentâ on the right.
Read MoreJason and Jennifer Carroll pray for Haiti as the poor, developing nation deals with unrelenting gang violence. Two American missionaries and a Haitian national were killed in an ambush last week.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk formed a coalition government in 2023 committed to making âhistoric changes,â he promised to improve the countryâs track record on womenâs rights. Noticeably absent in the coalitionâs agreement, however, was any specific wording on access to abortion, one of the most controversial issues under the previous government.
Read MoreArt â paintings, music, books, movies â has become part of the culture war swirling around Israel and Gaza that has been gaining steam steadily since Hamasâ attack on Oct. 7 and Israelâs subsequent response. Concerts have been canceled and art has been damaged by protesters, all part of a battle over the political meaning and value of art.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A new piece of legislation introduced earlier this month would require not-for-profit organizations to report grants they make to foreign entities. The Foreign Grant Reporting Act is authored by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) He says his goal is to bring more transparency into the growing tax-exempt sector.
Read MoreIsraelis are split along religious lines when it comes to the ongoing war in Gaza, according to a new study. In fact, the Pew Research Center survey found that Israelis âperceive the war in vastly different waysâ â and much of it depends on their religious backgrounds. One of the âstarkest divides,â according to Pew, is between Jewish and Arab Israelis as well as observant and secular Jews.
Read More(OPINION) Are you motivated to pray? The word âmotivationâ doesnât appear in older dictionaries since it wasnât coined until the mid-19th century and didnât come into common use until the 20th century.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi is unlikely to drastically alter Iranâs foreign and domestic policies, but it has left a power vacuum. As stipulated by the constitution, Raisi was replaced by his first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, as interim president before presidential elections are held in 50 days.
Read MoreAfter decades of declining membership, the Boy Scouts of America hopes dropping âBoyâ from its name will attract more children to the program. However, some evidence suggests this latest move may be pushing more families to seek alternatives specifically tailored for boys and promoting explicit Christian values.
Read MoreNigeriaâs population is well over 200 million. The African countryâs median age is 18, but 13.8% of its young men and women are without formal education, employment or any form of job training. This has made unemployment a compelling and dire issue requiring concerted efforts from both state and charities.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This bitter divide resurfaced during the May 11 Benedictine College commencement speech by Harrison Butker, a three-time Super Bowl champion from the nearby Kansas City Chiefs. While remarks about women and family life dominated headlines, most of the placekicker's 20-minute address focused on divisions inside Catholicism.
Read MoreAfter more than four decades, 87-year-old Ed Young has announced he is stepping down as senior pastor of the prominent, multi-site Houston megachurch, Second Baptist Church. Youngâs son, Associate Pastor Ben Young, will take on the leadership role.
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