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Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Archdiocese Upset After St. Patrick Finds a Home in Restaurant
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (RNS) And now, let us raise a toast to St. Patrick. Once a cherished icon for generations of Catholics, a statue of Ireland’s patron saint from Sacred Heart Church in Newark has landed in a South...
Russian Patriarch Denounces Moscow Airport Bombing
MOSCOW (RNS/ENInews) The head of the Russian Orthodox Church denounced a terrorist attack at Moscow’s busiest airport as “the horrifying scowl of sin,” and said actions once condemned even in war “are today becoming a...
Southern Baptist Leader Resigns Coalition Supporting Mosques
(RNS) A top leader of the Southern Baptist Convention has resigned from a new interfaith coalition, saying some fellow Southern Baptists felt it was inappropriate for him to support the building of mosques. Richard...
Baptist Minister Decries Persecution of Egypt’s Christians
Egypt is a "very dark" place for Christians, with worsening persecution in recent years. That's the opinion of a Baptist minister in Great Britain, Rev. Wagih Abdelmassih, minister of the London Arabic Evangelical...
Why Christians’ Forceful Testimonies Miss the Mark
I recently taught an adult class on the topic of miracles. In Judaism, some of the rabbis felt that miracles were supernatural events. Others, like Nachmanides, felt that miracles were natural occurrences and their...
One Baptist’s Heritage Travels a Winding Path
Five years ago a former seminary professor who was doing volunteer work at our church was cleaning out his files. He walked into my office and handed me an old legal-size poster that said "Baptists Through the Ages." I...
Israel Trips for Jewish Youths Expand
(RNS) Jewish organizations are aiming to send more North American teens and young adults than ever to Israel this year, focusing on increasing current numbers and reaching out to new groups. Taglit-Birthright Israel,...
Former UCC President Suspended After Affair
(RNS) The former president of the United Church of Christ has been suspended for one year and ordered to undergo a “program of growth” after he admitted last year to an affair with a former co-worker. An association...
Anglican Prelates to Meet in Ireland
(RNS) A handful of Anglican archbishops are boycotting a high-level meeting in Ireland this week (Jan. 25-30) to protest the Episcopal Church’s acceptance of openly gay and lesbian bishops. The Rev. Kenneth Kearon,...
Faith-Based Programs Need Grassroots Push: Part 2
Editor's note: This column is part two of a two-part series on faith-based social services. The writers -- a black Baptist preacher who runs a faith-based workforce development agency and a Jewish professor who has...
Will Churches Be Places of Warmth and Acceptance?
Upon moving from South Texas to the Midwest 10 years ago, I first bought a sturdy workhorse of a shovel. Then I bought another one made of some ultralight alloy with a snazzy ergonomic handle. Between the two, over a...
Extreme Weather Sparks Record-High Food Prices, Global Unrest
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that food prices reached a record high in December 2010. FAO reported that the price for wheat, rice, sugar and other commodities will remain high...
Self-formation
I've always liked the art of Norman Rockwell, whose work illustrated much of the 20th century, often on magazine covers. Art critics typically dismissed Rockwell as a commercial hack rather than a true artist, but...
Cash-strapped Cities Look to Tax Churches for Road Use
(RNS) When a community needs to rebuild crumbling roads, should houses of worship pay fees for the number of times their congregants drive on them? That’s the question behind a recent suit filed by churches in the...
Court Says Religious Knowledge Test Improper in Asylum Case
(RNS) A Chinese Christian should be given another chance at asylum after an immigration judge thought the man couldn’t answer “basic questions” about Christianity, a federal appeals court has ruled. The 9th U.S....
Catholic Media Empire Acquires National Catholic Register
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) EWTN Global Catholic Network, the Alabama-based international media enterprise founded by Mother Angelica in 1981, has signed a letter of intent to acquire the National Catholic Register...
How Our Divided Nation Can Agree to Move Forward
There once was a time when Paul Krugman, by his own admission, wasn't particularly active in public debate about policy issues confronting the country and the world. But for the last decade or so, no one would accuse...
Alabama Governor’s Words Inconsistent with Gospel
What was your first reaction to news reports that Robert Bentley, the new governor of Alabama, publicly declared during an observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist...
What Makes Faith-Based Social Services Work: Part 1
Editor's note: This column is part one of a two-part series on faith-based social services. The writers – a black Baptist preacher who runs a faith-based workforce development agency and a Jewish professor who has...
Let’s get paranoid …
You would think that folks who have firm convictions would not be threatened by the notion of cooperating in various ways with others who might differ in some respects. Apparently, however, the fear of contamination...
Update: Fla. Pastor Formally Banned from U.K.
LONDON (RNS) A Florida pastor who sparked fury when he threatened to burn a pile of Qurans on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks has been officially banned from Britain for preaching religious extremism. The British...