Features
What’s in a promise? Living by covenant, not contract
Monastic vows sound familiar to anyone who's been to a wedding. In both marriage and celibacy, we promise to be faithful.
Searching for a church: Life on the ecclesiastical frontier
In Strasbourg, my husband and I became ecclesiastical two-timers. Once we'd done that, it was easy to become three-timers.
Safety Not Guaranteed
Safety Not Guaranteed tells the story of Darius (Aubrey Plaza), a bored intern at a Seattle magazine. While researching a human interest story about Kenneth (Mark Duplass), a scientist/ store clerk who has placed a newspaper ad looking for a companion to accompany him into the future, Darius finds herself learning valuable life lessons about trust, loss, hope and, of course, love.
Perpetual shalom: Elisha's gift to Naaman
The general was insulted by the piddling, muddy Jordan. But he entered the water—and was healed! Then it was time to pay the bill.
Journey of light: LA’s Our Lady of the Angels
When you pray at LA's cathedral, you are part of humanity past, future and in the inglorious, unromanticized present.
Dark Horse
Writer-director Todd Solondz is the patron saint of schlubs and schlemiels. From his award-winning debut film Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996) through a series of low-budget projects, he casts an empathic eye on outsiders who can’t catch a break, no matter how hard they try.
Books
Martin Luther’s Anti-Semitism, by Eric W. Gritsch
Gritsch exegetes Luther’s appalling anti-Semitic pronouncements, placing them—never excusing them—in social and theological context and tracing their reception over the centuries....
Purgatory, by Jerry L. Walls
Can Protestants believe in purgatory? Should they? Might this enhance ecumenical relations with Catholics? Jerry Walls's answer to each question is yes.
Mad farmer?
Joel Salatin's new book offers a full banquet of opinions, prescriptions and rants. How does the man find time to farm?
The Theology of Jonathan Edwards, by Michael J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott
Michael McClymond and Gerald McDermott's remarkable book will undoubtedly become the standard scholarly introduction to Jonathan Edwards's theology.
The Serpent and the Lamb, by Steven Ozment
Lucas Cranach Sr. (1472–1553) produced more than 1,500 paintings, not to mention engravings, decorative work and altarpieces....
Departments
Word: Matthew (The Headless Baptist)
LePage combines his delight in graphic design with his dogged intention of reading scripture. The result is a website and graphic design that’s playful, reverent, irreverent, provocative—introducing biblical stories and themes with graphic power....
Globalization circa 1578
If one moment symbolizes the unification of the continents, it might be the creation of the diocese of Manila—as a suffragan see of Mexico City.
Theology face down
Rites that include prostration make a striking impression. It's not often that one sees a fellow human in an act of total self-surrender.
Strangers at church
We like to think of our congregations as families. That's a powerful thing—but it can also be exclusive and off-putting.
Stopping child abuse
A Penn State VP felt pressured to leave because she didn't understand the "Penn State way." It's a way that's not limited to Penn State.
News
Conditions grow worse for Somali refugees in camps
Conditions in the Dadaab refugee complex in northeastern Kenya are worsening one year after thousands of Somali migrants flocked to the settlement, according to relief agencies, which include church-based organizations....
After ardent debates, PCUSA changes little
The nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination has decided not to redefine marriage as a contract between “two persons” instead of between a woman and a man....
José Míguez Bonino, liberation theologian
Liberation theologian José Míguez Bonino died July 1 in Buenos Aires at the age of 88.
Míguez’s contribution to liberation theology had a strong impact in Latin America and beyond, said Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC....
Vatican: Disgraced Legion must rethink identity
The disgraced Legion of Christ religious order needs to rethink its identity before going forward with its internal reform, the papal envoy in charge of the group’s overhaul told priests and lay members in a recently published letter....
Polish bishops rap Europe norms against violence to women as interference
Poland’s Roman Catholic Bishops Conference has denounced a Council of Europe convention prohibiting violence against women and urged the country’s liberal government not to sign it....
Will ‘God particle’ spur science-religion debate?
The Higgs boson is perhaps better known by its sexier nickname: the “God particle.” But many scientists, including the physicist for whom it is named, dislike the term....
Mormon church hits back at magazine’s portrayal of LDS prophet and profits
The Mormon church is lashing back at a business magazine that parodied its prophet’s mission and portrayed the affluent church as miserly in its charitable donations....
Episcopalians OK same-sex rites
Gay and lesbian Episcopalians are celebrating their church’s approval of liturgical rites for blessing same-sex couples. But conservatives are threatening to take “drastic” steps to distance themselves from the Episcopal Church....
Church historian sees Catholic schism ahead
Influential church historian Diarmaid MacCulloch said he believes that Christianity faces a bright future but predicts that the Roman Catholic Church will undergo a major schism over its moral and social teaching....
Church of England delays vote on women bishops
The Church of England’s General Synod has decided to delay a final vote on allowing women to become bishops until a meeting in London this November....
German bishop will head Vatican’s doctrine office
Pope Benedict XVI has tapped a fellow German to lead the Vatican doctrinal office he headed for 24 years before being elected to the papacy. The Vatican announced July 2 that Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller will replace U.S. Cardinal William J....
Breakaway Catholic group spurns Vatican’s overture
A breakaway traditionalist Catholic group has rejected a Vatican document that was supposed to lay the foundation for the group’s reconciliation with Rome....
Ehrman book rebuts claim that Jesus never existed
For years, nonbelievers rejoiced at the publication of new books by New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman, relishing the professor’s pugnacious attacks on the cherished beliefs of evangelical Christians....
Lectionary
Sunday, August 19, 2012: John 6:51-58
Perhaps we should not be too hard on the people who ate their fill on the mountain and chased Jesus down on the other side.
Ordinary 19B (John 6:35, 41-51)
Jesus offers signs of life in the midst of death.