(ANALYSIS) It’s a good thing when academics and pundits start writing about hot-button issues linked to screen culture. That’s how things get done in the marketplace of ideas.
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(OPINION) During the centuries, Christians have held widely different views on their relation to the political order. Some have taken the attitude that they should have nothing to do with civil government. At the opposite extreme, others have identified the church with the state. Between these positions, different groups have made various combinations.
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(ANALYSIS) I’ve been trying to think of a way to better understand how female pastors experience their job compared to men. There just aren’t that many surveys of clergy out there, so this is not an easy task. The other day I remembered that there was a dataset out there that I hadn’t done a lot with — the National Congregations Study.
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(REVIEW) “Conclave,” the fictional thriller that outlines the Catholic process of selecting a new pope, does the audience the service of stating its intended message outright. In a controversial homily that begins the proceedings, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence declares that “certainty is the great enemy of unity.” The movie also goes on to demonstrate that lesson in a variety of ways, as conspiracy abounds and tension grows.
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(ANALYSIS) A native of Fairmont, West Virginia, Paul Quenon entered Gethsemani as a novice in 1958. Thomas Merton was his novice master. “A Matter of the Heart” draws from Quenon’s experiences and observations over five of his more than six decades inside the cloister. Paul Prather recently spoke to him via email.
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Fueled by donations from two conservative billionaires, the leading Republican Jewish political action committee is pouring millions of dollars into a swing-state advertising blitz supporting former President Donald Trump in the final weeks of the campaign.
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(ANALYSIS) Funerals — often thought of as solemn events filled with grief and mourning — are starting to take on a different tone. In Britain, anyway. In fact, more people view funerals as opportunities to celebrate life, rather than occasions for somber reflection. It’s a shift that’s redefining how the Brits, renowned for their stiff upper lips, are saying goodbye to loved ones.
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On the eve of a potentially historic presidential election, Natasha Sutherland is tired. The born-and-raised Floridian and senior advisor to the Yes on 4 campaign has been fighting to expand and protect abortion access in her home state for years, but that fight hit a fever pitch after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
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What intrigued Ma was that they weren’t trying to get people to agree with each other, but to respect each other, which is one of our nation’s biggest issues, especially in light of the upcoming presidential election. Initially, the filmmakers suggested assembling a group of multiple faith leaders from all over the country, but it was eventually changed so that all the participants lived in the same city.
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At church, churchgoers are surrounded by people who share their religious beliefs, but that doesn’t prevent them from having friends who believe differently.
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(OPINION) I had long self-righteously labeled non-churchgoers as unbelievers or undisciplined Christians. However, after being thrust into the outskirts of the churchgoing tribe, I can more accurately see the people on the outside, especially those who wandered away hurting and filled with distrust.
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See any link here? God, guns and "deplorables." Now we have "garbage" voters.
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For Weekend Plug-in columnist Bobby Ross Jr., Nov. 5 will mark not just the presidential election but also his birthday. This is the third time this has happened in his lifetime, and it made him curious about 2024’s parallels, if any, with 1968 and 1996.
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Many books now tell us what to eat or when not to eat, how to observe “sacred times” or generate mystical experiences, but in Christ we sever both our bondage to the world and our tendency to think that a guru’s orders will save us. Ruben Rosario Rodriguez’s “Calvin for the World” takes readers on an unusual look at John Calvin as “a humanistic reformer whose ecclesiastical and civil polity wanted ‘every resident of Geneva integrated into a caring community,’”
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(ANALYSIS) The absence of religious “safety nets” in schools has been blamed for the growth in juvenile delinquency across Zimbabwe. Parents and communities are becoming aware of the vacuum caused by the absence of faith-based activities in schools as a result of drug addiction and other crimes. Christians, it should be noted, have been impacted by this more than any other religious group.
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This is a big time of year at Religion Unplugged. Nov. 1 marks the official launch of the annual NewsMatch campaign — one of our biggest fundraisers of the year.
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The late Warren Wiersbe, a prolific author of more than 170 books, never seemed keen on writing with his grandson Dan Jacobsen. Following Wiersbe’s death in May 2019, the family discovered a dusty manila file folder among the thousands of files Wiersbe left behind. In it was a manuscript, 80 percent complete, perhaps begun in 2012 when Wiersbe was in his early 80s.
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Since 1979, Joni and Friends, the organization started by Joni Eareckson Tada after a diving accident left her a quadriplegic, has advocated for those living with disabilities and their families. Part of its thriving global ministry includes the Wheels for the World program that has donated over 235,000 wheelchairs.
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In Europe, it’s called “Camp Amerikraine,” a cherished annual meeting for Christians in Ukraine launched two decades ago with help from Christians in America. A continent and an invasion away, a retreat some call “Camp Amerikraine in America” now brings together displaced Ukrainian believers in the U.S. for fellowship and solace from the trauma of war.
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(ANALYSIS) Decades later, it’s hard to remember how much “Chariots of Fire” shocked the Hollywood establishment, with soaring box-office totals and four wins at the 1982 Oscars — including a Best Picture win for producer David Puttnam. The film’s focus on two legendary runners — one Christian and the other Jewish — also pleased believers who rarely applaud how faith is handled on screen.
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