Features
Moving parts: Liturgical body language
Using my hands in worship—whether raising them high or making the sign of the cross—helps to blur the boundaries that slice across the body of Christ.
Same-sex complementarity: A theology of marriage
No conservative I know has seriously argued that same-sex couples need sanctification any less than opposite-sex couples do.
Episcopal future: Is Anglican reconciliation possible?
The Episcopal Church is in the position of striving to be both fully inclusive at home and a
fully accountable part of the Anglican Communion. Can this seeming
paradox be resolved?
In praise of imbalance: The holy rhythms of life
Who really wants to lead a balanced life? The times I've been
happiest—when I was raising young children or consumed with a project—my
life has been decidedly out of balance.
What do the bylaws say? Order and disorder in the church: Order and disorder in the church
Congregations that pay little heed to their bylaws are often in a state
of perpetual crisis, chronic conflict and steady decline.
Betting on a generous God
Rob Bell fights every impulse in our culture to domesticate Jesus, reminding
readers that Christians do not believe in Christianity; they believe in
the Christ who wants to "draw all people" to himself.
Certified Copy
Certified Copy, the first English-language film by the Iranian writer-director Abbas Kiarostami, is a road-trip meditation on the complexities of marriage. Like almost all the work by this 71-year-old icon of the international film festival circuit, it reveals itself slowly, keeping us hanging and distracted for the entire first act before the key issues are laid bare.
Books
Ascension Theology, by Douglas Farrow
A friend of mine, a professional scholar of the New Testament but no great fan of attempts (such as Rudolf Bultmann's) to "demythologize" its witness, recently told me about his visit to the ...
The Spirit of Vatican II, by Colleen McDannell
Colleen McDannell confesses that integrating family history with scholarship is not for the faint of heart....
Growing youth
The most hopeful message in Greenhouses of Hope is
implicit: your church doesn't have to be large, suburban, white or
wealthy--or even to have an established youth program--in order for
ministry with young people to flourish.
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs
If you're like me, you have a list of books in your head or on scraps of paper that you think you should read sometime....
The Tenth Parallel, by Eliza Griswold
Eliza Griswold's book is a nearly perfect puzzle. On the one hand, she is doing some of the most important religious journalism being done these days....
Departments
Trouble in paradise
Fiji has long been known
to Westerners mainly as an exotic tourist destination. In recent years, though,
the country has acquired a troubling reputation for religious and
ethnic confrontations.
Welcomed to ministry
Our service ended with a Eucharist, celebrated at an
imposing altar. I
learned to make my gestures big, to open my arms wide, to lift the cup
above my head. What I never quite got the hang of was the chanting.
Something game-changing
When the great theologian Karl Barth was charged with being a
universalist, he reportedly denied it, but then quoted 1 John: "Christ
died for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the
whole world."
Safeguarding women’s health
Imagine you are a young mother living paycheck to paycheck, with no
health insurance. Where would you go for a pregnancy test? For treatment
of a sexually transmitted disease? To obtain contraceptives? In each
case, the answer for millions of Americans is Planned Parenthood.
News
Presbyterians expect fewer full-time pastors
More signs of tough times: Large majorities of Presbyterians expect that a decreasing number of their churches will be led by full-time pastors....
Seminary enrollments showing upturn
Total enrollment is up for the first time in four years at seminaries of the Association of Theological Schools—thanks to the addition of 11 new schools to the roster of North America's accrediting organization....
Nancy Hardesty, pioneer evangelical feminist, dies
Nancy A. Hardesty, one of the founders of evangelical Christian feminism, died April 8 in Atlanta after two years of treatment for pancreatic cancer. She was 69....
Public sees Christianity, capitalism at odds
Are Christianity and capitalism a marriage made in heaven, as some
conservatives believe, or more of a strained relationship in need of
some serious counseling?...
Churches slowly rebound from recession
The recession was a double-barrel blow to American congregations:
directly hurting their budgets while increasing the demands for
counseling, emergency housing and other social services....
Rome to beatify anti-Nazi priests, but not a Lutheran
Residents of the northern German city of Lübeck have long taken pride
in four native sons—three Catholic priests and a Lutheran pastor—who
were beheaded in quick succession on November 10, 1943, by the Nazi...
Obama reflects on beliefs at prayer breakfast
In a pre-Easter prayer breakfast at the White House, President Obama
said Jesus' death and resurrection "puts everything else in
perspective." Using the kind of personal religious language he once...
Burned church nearly rebuilt; three convicted
As a white man surrendered to federal marshals in mid-April, workers
were rebuilding the pulpit of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a
church he was convicted of burning down the night of President Obama's
election....
Kmiec’s gospel falls flat at State Department
The State Department has a "rigidly narrow" view of diplomacy that
neglects religion's role in foreign affairs, a prominent ambassador
charged as he announced his resignation in mid-April....
Senate confirms Cook for religious freedom post
A New York minister will soon fill the Obama administration's
long-vacant position to oversee international issues of religious
freedom. The Senate voted April 14 to confirm Suzan Johnson Cook for the
post....
Lectionary
Sunday, May 22, 2011: Acts 7:55–60; John 14:1–14
I love interfaith gatherings, but I would never invite Stephen.