Features
Affirmation of being: In defense of atonement theology
Explanations of the cross have been subject to major critiques in recent decades. Is it really the case that, given human sin, someone has to pay?
Witness to the dark: Ashes in the streets
At our first outdoor procession, I felt awkward. I’d led liturgies before, but my church life and my real life didn’t usually intersect so publicly.
Bedbug epiphany: A Three Kings pageant
The frankincense gift needs to be taped back together. So does the stable wall.
Which global church? The Pentecostal World Fellowship and the WCC
Weeks after Pentecostals met in Malaysia, Christians from around the globe arrived in Korea. The gatherings represented very different groups.
Books
Rethinking Christian Identity, by Medi Ann Volpe
In what started out as a doctoral dissertation, Volpe explores the implications of George Lindbeck’s work on language, skills and doctrine for the task of Christian formation....
Playing God, by Andy Crouch
Power is a gift, a means of peacemaking, a God-sanctioned key to human flourishing. This is the striking claim advanced in Andy Crouch's engaging new book.
Preaching God’s Transforming Justice, edited by Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, Ronald J. Allen and Dale P. Andrews
This is the third and final volume in a series of commentaries on the Revised Common Lectionary that focuses on the challenge and mandate of preaching about justice, rooted in the belief that God’...
Lethal prescription
There are few heroes in Sheri Fink's harrowing narrative of overwhelmed health-care workers during and after Hurricane Katrina.
The New Middle East, by Paul Danahar
Christians in the United States who are committed to accompanying the churches of the Middle East are looking for help in understanding the shifting dynamics of the region after the Arab Spring. Paul Danahar’s lengthy study would seem to promise such help.
Departments
Truth in beautiful spaces
When did we stop taking church architecture seriously? Christians used to devote themselves to building projects that lasted over a hundred years. Not anymore.
The Transfiguration, by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio) (1483–1520)
The transfigured Christ is miraculously lifted above Mount Tabor between Moses (on the right) and Elijah (on the left). James, Peter and John (from left to right) react to the blinding light and powerful drama occurring above them....
Secular South Africa?
In religious terms, the emerging South Africa looks at once thoroughly African and surprisingly European.
Post-Christmas blues
I don't much like the days and weeks after Christmas. Christmas takes so long to get here, with preparations and anticipation building from mid-November on. And then, sometime during the day of December 25, it all collapses.
Safety net successes
Sen. Rubio would replace the EITC with wage supplements. He’s offered few details, but at least he agrees $18,000 is not enough to support a family.
News
Barbour fostered dialogue between religion and science
Ian Barbour, who died at 90 in Northfield, Minnesota, where he taught for 30 years at Carleton College, was widely lauded for his pioneering role in bridging religion and science....
In naming cardinals, pope looks to developing world
Pope Francis released the names of new cardinals on January 12, making some surprising choices that largely confirmed the characteristics he wants in the Catholic Church: a greater focus on the poor, a bigger voice for the Global South and a reduc...
Christians in Libya uneasy about move to Shari‘a law
Church leaders in Libya remain hopeful that Christians in the mostly Muslim country will be allowed to practice their faith, even as the country appears to be moving toward Shari‘a law....
Treatment of brain-dead patients criticized
The cases of two young women declared brain-dead have generated sympathy for their families, but also have left some doctors and bioethicists upset about their treatment....
Distinguishing states of unconsciousness
Brain death: Brain-dead patients are no longer alive. They have suffered an irreversible cessation of all activity in both the brain and the brain stem....
Snake-handling pastor excused by grand jury
An East Tennessee serpent-handling pastor’s legal woes are over for now. After a hearing on January 8, a grand jury decided not to indict Andrew Hamblin on charges of violating a state ban on possessing venomous snakes....
Breast-feeding, on the rise, remains an issue in pews
Jesus was breast-fed. It’s a point often made by mothers who want to breast-feed in church but know others would prefer that they retreat to the nursery or find an out-of-the-way bench....
Evolution views driven by faith more than education
As evolution remains a contentious issue for many public schools, a new survey suggests that views on the question are driven by Americans’ religious affiliation more than their level of ...
Church-state partners aid malaria fight in Zambia
When Silumesii Mubiana’s 86-year-old uncle fell ill with hypertension, Mubiana bypassed closer government-run hospitals, traveling instead to the church-run Macha Mission Hospital 25 miles away....
Lectionary
Sunday, February 16, 2014: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Life is Good. T-shirts broadcasting this message are available in stores everywhere in sizes for both adults and kids. I see these shirts in airports across the country. I wonder if airports are capitalizing on the hope that people who are about to be set free from regular responsibilities and stresses are inclined to join a Life Is Good club—or perhaps airports are capitalizing on those travelers whose impulse control is poor because they’re excited about getting home to visit loved ones.
Sunday, February 9, 2014: Isaiah 58:1-9a
It’s not quite Lent, but we can see it from here.