Features
Wired together: How our brains are connected
Our brains are wired to allow us to read each other's minds, to feel each other's person.
Refuge and strength: Finding peace at a monastery
I see the monastery sign and drive past. I know two monks there, and I've been grabbing at every possible lead. But I'm too ashamed to turn in.
Designer mittens: Mine for the giving
I gave the woman a Dunkin Donuts gift card and told her to get something hot. She didn't thank me. She said, "Those mittens look warm."
Caught in the middle: On abortion and homosexuality
Nowhere has our callow politics asserted itself more thoughtlessly and noisily than in the politicization of personal or private life.
Gun control in sight: Faith groups seize political moment
History is littered with the husks of failed faith-based campaigns to change society. Will the current gun control push be different?
Books
Laughter Is Sacred Space, by Ted Swartz
Ted and Lee (Lee Eshleman and Ted Swartz) were a creative and funny acting team....
Cross-shaped story
On April 13, 2005, Richard Lischer's 33-year-old son, Adam, phoned his dad. The cancer had spread throughout Adam's body.
The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg
Charles Duhigg's book will remind readers of Malcolm Gladwell's best work. It represents the best "popular brain science" genre can offer.
Wm & H’ry, by J. C. Hallman
The letters that flowed back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean between William and Henry James are voluminous....
Departments
Cutting the military
The sequester cut defense spending—to 2006 levels. The U.S. will continue to spend as much on defense as the next 13 countries combined.
The Dancing Francis and St. Francis and the Birds
Many people are still inspired by the figure of St. Francis (d. 1226), who gave up a life of relative ease to become a simple follower of Jesus and a friend of all God’s creatures. Millions of tourists and pilgrims flock to Assisi, St....
Now what?
Most pastors take a break after Holy Week and Easter Day. But I've always felt that the weeks after Easter are the most important of the year.
The art of puttering
Multitasking is marked by a sustained sense of urgency in a world mediated by communication devices. Puttering is something different.
Prayer for the pope
If we take the Christian story seriously, the pope's burdens are not his alone to bear. They are shared by everyone united with him in prayer.
News
Scottish cardinal admits to sexual misconduct
Days after pulling out of the conclave to elect the next pope and vowing to fight the charges against him, disgraced Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien admitted on March 3 to inappropriate “sexual conduct.”...
Churches weather the recession
A survey that asked churches how they fared during the economic recession found that there was a collective sigh of relief from most pastors and congregational leaders—nearly 75 percent said “well” or “very well.” And the majority of congregations...
American Baptists, CBF discuss closer cooperation
Author and activist Tony Campolo brokered unpublicized dialogue early this year between heads of two national Baptist groups that share much in common, according to officials of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship....
Bishop Minerva Carcaño on immigration front line
When United Methodist Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño talks about tussling with political bigwigs on the topic of immigration reform, she is poised yet forceful....
Clinton asks justices to overturn law he signed
It’s not every day that an ex-president asks the Supreme Court to strike down a law he signed....
Catholic bishops opposed lesbian rights in bill that protects women
A Newly authorized Violence Against Women Act, signed by President Obama on March 7, was opposed by five key Catholic bishops for fear it would subvert traditional views of marriage and gender and compromise the religious freedom of groups that ai...
Statue of Rosa Parks unveiled in Capitol
A bronze statue of civil rights heroine Rosa Parks was recently unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on a day for members of her African Methodist Episcopal Church to celebrate one of their own....
Megachurches are thriving in hard times, survey says
Despite the tough economy, many of the nation’s largest churches are thriving, with increased offerings and plans to hire more staff, a new survey shows....
Armenia struggles to absorb Christian refugees from Syria
Sarkiss Rshdouni escaped the fighting in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo months ago but cannot shake memories of what he witnessed....