The Prodigal Son is often read to mean that God loves sinners, whereas the Jews thought God only loved the righteous. This makes no sense.
On the porch of a cottage in North Carolina, I gaze in wonder at the expanse in front of me. It's conducive to thinking and reading as well as meditating and praying.
Air strikes give the illusion of surgical intervention. But they are not unambiguous humanitarian acts.
What does it mean to "turn to faith"? To gather in the like-minded and bar the door? Or to take a riskier move outward?
The story of Pentecostalism and social change is now familiar. What's surprising is how closely it echoes trends in modern Islam.
This summer, the most common theme being played out at the movies is this: No matter who you are, you are the same as everyone else.
Church folks will not always agree—nor should we.
What comes first—your actions or your beliefs? Here's Paul's answer: neither one. What comes first is the love of God.
Cloud of skeptics
Peter Watson sketches in the lives and thoughts of an array of scientists, artists, and philosophers who offer ways to cope with the death of God.
Marriage Markets, by June Carbone and Naomi Cahn
June Carbone and Naomi Cahn follow the life trajectories of two couples with much in common—but not marriage.
The Ecology of Spirituality, by Lucy Bregman
Many current meanings of spirituality have nothing to do with the spiritual or the spirit, but Lucy Bregman doesn't write them off. Instead, she wants to find out what "makes spirituality so appealing."
Small Town Heroes, by Hurray for the Riff Raff
On Alynda Lee Segarra's fifth album as Hurray for the Riff Raff, the Puerto Rican Bronx native wraps social commentary around Americana references.