Features
The way open to other ways: Paul Knitter, Buddhist Christian
"Buddhism has not just provided the flashlight with which I have discovered what was in the Christian basement. It has also added to that basement."
How wide is God’s mercy? The Holy Spirit in other religions
Could the Spirit's love be poured into the hearts of people untouched by the incarnation? Could non-Christians be lovers of the only God there is?
Bible camp in the street: Ministry on a troubled corner
First church members reclaimed the corner as a peaceful space. Then, as it got colder, they began talking about expanding their ministry.
Learning to give thanks
How is thankfulness engendered? By giving thanks in all circumstances.
Liberal messiah: If Sanders became president, what would change?
The state of U.S. politics makes it tempting to throw energy behind a messianic bid for the presidency. It also makes this a dubious strategy.
Books
The Two-State Delusion, by Padraig O’Malley
Padraig O'Malley is not the first scholar to call the two-state approach a failed paradigm. Yet where others suggest an alternative, O'Malley remains in the deconstructing stage.
Walking Backwards to Christmas, by Stephen Cottrell
Cottrell tells the Christmas story in reverse, starting with Anna and going back to the hopes of Isaiah and Moses. Each episode is imaginatively told....
Neighboring Faiths, by David Nirenberg
Plenty of scholars have discussed interfaith relations in medieval Spain. What makes David Nirenberg's book distinctive is his emphasis on how each religion's self-image was shaped by its portrayal of the others.
Advent in Narnia, by Heidi Haverkamp
C. S. Lewis placed the Christian story in the fantasy world of Narnia so that readers could encounter the story in a fresh way....
Room to grow up
Are today's young adults more immature than their age mates in previous generations? Yes, says Julie Lythcott-Haims, but it's not their fault.
Why This Jubilee? by James C. Howell
How easy it is for Christians to sing hymns without pondering the meaning of the texts. Howell encourages us to slow down and take notice....
Departments
Rejects in the center
Perhaps normal people no longer assume that church is part of what it means to be normal. Or perhaps the idea of a normal center was flawed all along.
Back at the burning bush
The people at Friendship Church make creative use of art. They have also learned to be creative as they form their community and shape their narratives.
Doing one thing well
Independent, single-purpose organizations have picked up pieces of what the church used to do.
The best politics is local
Americans tend to have a romanticized, inflated sense of the White House and its power. In domestic affairs, most of the power is elsewhere.
Christ Pantocrator, Alpha and Omega, surrounded by angels, the elect, and Mary, Mother of God, Dome of Paradise, by Giusto de’ Menabuoi (1320–1391)
Christ Pantocrator means “all-powerful or Almighty Christ.” The Pantocrator image, which typically depicts Christ seated in enthroned glory, was (and is) especially popular in the Byzantine icon tradition....
Promo for Mars
NASA is, to say the least, enthusiastic about The Martian. The film is a really, really good commercial for a future budgetary request.
News
Boko Haram bombs civilians while Nigerian military is criticized for abuses
(The Christian Science Monitor) Boko Haram attacks in recent months, including at a mosque as evening prayer began, are increasingly using suicide bombers to target civilians, a new st...
Mark Juergensmeyer, religion scholar, withdraws from event over religious freedom issue
Mark Juergensmeyer, past president of the American Academy of Religion, withdrew from a symposium on law and religion at Brigham Young University after learning of BYU’s policy toward Mormon students who change their faith....
Black churches in St. Louis area damaged by fires, arson suspected
Fires damaged several churches—of different denominations, but most with predominantly black congregations—within a few miles of one another in northwest St. Louis and nearby suburbs within weeks in October....
James Nelson, groundbreaking ethics and sexuality scholar, dies at 85
James B. Nelson, an author and scholar of Christian ethics in the United Church of Christ, died October 15 in Tucson, Arizona, at age 85....
Scholar finds oldest KJV draft
For about a month after he returned from England last year, a New Jersey university professor did not realize what a treasure he had found in a rare books library abroad....
Mussie Zerai, Nobel-nominated Eritrean priest, aids refugees
Mussie Zerai was once a refugee.
Now the 40-year-old Roman Catholic priest from Eritrea runs a center that receives calls from distressed migrants who have fled their countries in hopes of a better life in Europe. ...
U.S., Canadian denominations sign full communion agreement
Two of North America’s most liberal Protestant church groups have agreed to recognize each other’s members, ministers, and sacraments....
California law allows aid in dying for terminally ill
(The Christian Science Monitor) After California approved a law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, joining several other states authorizing that decision, the choice is no...
Canadian court rules in favor of woman wearing niqab in citizenship ritual
A Canadian court has cleared the way for a Muslim woman to wear her face veil, or niqab, while taking the oath of citizenship....
Pentecostal Christianity is a top Nigerian export
(The Christian Science Monitor) The roads that wind north from Lagos, Nigeria, toward the headquarters of the Winners’ Chapel megachurch are lined with businesses such as Amazing Grace...
Lectionary
November 22, Reign of Christ: John 18:33-37
The callousness of Pontius Pilate was legendary: if you could choose your judge, you did not want him. Jesus cannot choose.
November 15, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 13:1-8
The unnamed disciple in Mark 13:1 would have been impressed not only by the temple’s splendor, but by what it represented: God’s presence with Israel. Jesus’ reply must have astounded him.