Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Does Meditation Help Fuel Entrepreneurial Success?
(RNS) Entrepreneurs behave just like most Americans when it comes to religion—but with one spiritual twist. They’re significantly more likely to pray several times a day or to meditate, said sociologist Kevin...
Many Americans See God’s Hand in Economy
(RNS) The way you see God tells a lot about how you see the U.S. economy, according to a new national survey. About one in five Americans combine a view of God as actively engaged in daily workings of the world with an...
Abrahamic Faiths Share Common Hope for Peace
Editor's note: The remarks below are excerpted from a speech given by Bruce Prescott at a peace conference Sept. 14 in Ames, Iowa. Peace (shalom) in the Hebrew Bible means more than the mere absence of conflict and...
Recognizing Greatness: A First-Grader Learns a New Land
There is a wonderful scene in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" where the all-white jury has returned an unjust verdict against Tom Robinson. Atticus Finch begins to wearily walk out of the courthouse. Jem and...
Focus on Peace Still Key among Iraqi Faith Leaders
Iraq's faith leaders have stressed their own commitment to maintaining peace efforts through dialogue rather than military means. The High Council of Religious Leaders in Iraq met for three days of closed-door dialogue...
SAAATTWDUT
By John Pierce Acronyms save time and space. They are effective when understood. Theologian and futurist Leonard Sweet uses acronyms frequently in his writing and teaching. Sometimes I catch on; sometimes I want just...
Failing Churches Find New Life as Outposts for Megachurches
PELHAM, Ala. (RNS) Five years ago, Living Word Church had dwindled to 40 members, had lost its founding pastor and was unable to pack more than about 80 people into its 280-seat sanctuary and unsure of the future. Now,...
Groups Press Obama on Religious Hiring
WASHINGTON (RNS) Dozens of religious and civil rights organizations challenged President Obama to fulfill a campaign promise to end religious discrimination in federally funded jobs. “Mr. President, we have been...
Atheists Target Clergy Housing Tax Break
(RNS) A long-standing tax break for clergy and other “ministers of the gospel” is facing the newest in a string of challenges in federal court. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit on Sept....
In Different Ways, We All Long for Freedom
What links: famine in Somalia, youth unemployment, and slavery in the British town of Leighton Buzzard? No, this is not part of the Round Britain Quiz. These are three issues that have been featured in the news...
Four Ways That Leaders Learn Leadership
In a previous column, I shared this quote from Harold Geneen: "Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned." Most of the time, leadership is learned in the crucible of action. When a person is thrust...
How Language Use Forces Minorities to the Margin
Desi Arnaz played the role of Ricky Ricardo in the popular 1950s sitcom "I Love Lucy." Hanging on his dressing room door was a sign that read, "English is broken here." For those of us who are Hispanic, our "broken"...
The Nude Sea?
Spencer Tunick, an American photographer who believes lots of naked people in unexpected surroundings makes for high art, held a mass photo shoot at the Dead Sea September 17. More than 1,000 Israelis stripped down for...
Bishop Says Anti-abortion Activist not Facing Charges
(RNS) Just days after prominent anti-abortion activist Rev. Frank Pavone was ordered to suspend his work as head of Priests for Life, Pavone and his bishop, Patrick J. Zurek of Amarillo, Texas, are seeking a way out of...
Christian Bookstores Try to Gain off Borders’ Loss
(RNS) The saying goes that when God closes a door, he opens a window. So when the Borders bookstore chain—the nation’s second-largest—finishes closing all of its stores this month, Christian retailers see a window of...
Spurgeon’s Right “ Following Jesus Requires Fleshy Heart
Renowned British preacher C.H. Spurgeon delivered a sermon at the MetropolitanTabernacle in London on May 25, 1862. The title: "TheStonyHeartRemoved." "He delighteth to undertake strange things," said Spurgeon of God,...
The High Cost of Security in the United States
Ten years on, media commentary on 9/11 is legion, while other events, equally horrific, are quickly forgotten. Three days after the 9/11 attacks, Howard Zinn, the distinguished American historian and author of "A...
Panel: Civil Voices Must Speak Up on Immigration
A central question raised during the premier screening of "Gospel Without Borders" in Little Rock, Ark., concerned how goodwill Christians can be a soothing breeze in the face of a strong and tumultuous...
‘Harvest of friends and fruit’
By John Pierce My Ringgold High classmates Lee and Laura Kay provided a new and enjoyable experience for me this morning. Family and friends gathered at their beautiful Millstone Vineyard in the rolling hills of...
Ahh …
Today feels like fall where I live, and that feels good. Don't get me wrong -- summer is nice, and I'd rather be hot than cold any day, but it's about time autumn arrived. According to the National Oceanic and...
More Americans Desiging Make-your-own Religion
(RNS) If World War II-era warbler Kate Smith sang today, her anthem could be “Gods Bless America.” That’s one of the key findings in newly released research that reveals America’s drift from clearly defined religious...