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Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Vatican Treads Carefully on Egyptian Violence
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Treading carefully on a subject that has proved diplomatically volatile for the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI lamented Sunday’s (Oct. 9) killing of two dozen Christian protesters in Egypt. “I am...
Obama Hosts First Evangelical Summit at White House
(RNS) President Obama formally extended his ear to evangelicals ahead of the 2012 election, meeting with top leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals in the White House for about 30 minutes on Wednesday...
“Page One: Inside The New York Times”
"Newspapers are dying" is the refrain in conversations about media health. And true, in the last few years some traditional newspapers have disappeared (RockyMountainNews), gone to online-only editions...
Economy Transfers Wealth – From the Bottom Up
The new capitalist economic system established in the1980s and advocated by the Reagan administration is known as "neoliberalism" - "neo" because it is a new global movement since the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, and...
British Churches Back Robin Hood Tax
A controversial European tax proposed for financial transactions has been welcomed by churches and anti-poverty campaigners. Announced by European Commission President Manuel Barroso, the Financial Transaction Tax, or...
Finally, a break … TravelBlog 5
The delegation to El Salvador from Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. caught a welcome break Wednesday, as we had only one dignitary to meet. We shopped at a collection of small craft shops for part of the...
Pride still comes before the fall
By John Pierce One distinct memory from my entry into home ownership in the early ‘80s is of visiting a building supply company in the Atlanta suburbs. There would be two guys in golf shirts sitting on stools...
La cruz subversiva – TravelBlog 4
Day four in El Salvador left me wanting to cry "Demasiado!" -- there was just way too much to write about. Just the highlights from a long rainy day in the life of Calvary Baptist Church's team that is learning and...
Three Keys to Partnering with Religious Vendors
I am a terrible salesperson. When I believe in an organization, I readily participate in it and support it, share its value with others and ask them to support it as well, but I am not naturally inclined to push people...
Conservatives Rally Around N.Y. Clerk over Same-sex Marriages
LEDYARD, N.Y. (RNS) A conservative Christian group is behind a new YouTube video that features a town clerk explaining why she believes she should not have to comply with a state law and issue same-sex marriage...
Film Explores Shifting Debate over Evolution
(RNS) A new documentary examines the evolving battle over teaching evolution in American classrooms as tactics have shifted from a hard-nosed debate to a more subtle fight in the name of “academic freedom.” The film,...
Charges Dropped Against Clergy Who Prayed in Capitol
WASHINGTON (RNS) A city court on Tuesday (Oct. 11) dropped charges against a group of religious and civic leaders who were arrested in July during a prayer vigil for the poor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. The vigil,...
Dead Sea Scrolls Receive New Life Online
You may or may not have seen recentnews indicating that a partnership between the IsraelMuseum and GoogleIsrael is making high-resolution images of the famous DeadSeaScrollsavailableonline. If you didn't notice, a...
Why Ron Paul’s Church Commitments Matter
Does it matter where presidential candidate Ron Paul goes to church? The answer is "yes." The trigger for the question was his response during a Republican presidential debate on CNN. Moderator Wolf Blitzer said to...
Poll: Three in Four Pastors Say Mormons Aren’t Christian
WASHINGTON (RNS) As a prominent evangelical pastor and supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry is taking heat for calling Mormonism a “cult,” a newly released poll says most Protestant pastors in U.S. agree that Mormons are...
Schismatics Discuss Vatican Demands
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Leaders of an ultra-traditionalist group that’s in schism with the Roman Catholic Church met to consider the Vatican’s conditions for reconciliation, but failed to announce a decision or say when...
Protest Chaplains Shepherd Movement’s Spiritual Side
BOSTON (RNS) As waves of demonstrators descended on New York City to protest corporate greed, they were met by typical sounds of raucous youth-led protests: drum beats, police sirens and shouted political slogans. They...
Why So Many Mourn the Passing of Steve Jobs
Watching the news reports of those mourning the death of Steve Jobs, it struck me that for the first time in my experience people are genuinely saddened at the death of a business leader, rather than a rock star, a...
Jesus’ Leadership Model: Servants Over CEOs
In what way does Jesus inform, and perhaps transform, our understanding of leadership? As we answer that question, we need to resist the temptations to make him over in our image, domesticate him and limit his reach....
Immigration Rules Costly for British Bible Colleges
Britain's theological colleges are coming under pressure following a government decision that sees many forced to choose between taking a massive financial hit and turning away foreign students. The U.K. Borders Agency...
Scholars, Jesuits, and the zona marginal – TravelBlog 3
Immigration is a hot topic in America -- but nearly always from the perspective of a host country coming to terms with what some perceive as an excess of immigrants. A delegation from Washington D.C.'s Calvary Baptist...