Where the Public Stands on Religious Liberty vs. Nondiscrimination: Two-thirds say employers should provide birth control in insurance plans despite the employer’s religious objections, but the public is split over same-sex wedding services and use of public bathrooms by transgender people.
IRS changes status of Billy Graham’s ministry: As requested by the Graham organization, the IRS changed its tax status from a nonprofit to an “association of churches.” The change means the 66-year-old Christian organization no longer has to file what the IRS calls Form 990, a public statement of its financial information.
The Political Magic of C.S. Lewis: This op-ed column presents an overview of several themes from Lewis that intersect with perennial issues in politics and religion. Student can agree or disagree with the columnist while considering the views. The article also cites the new book, C.S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law by Dyer […]
Christians and Secularists Under the Same Umbrella: It would be quite wrong to see the Hong Kong democracy movement as either Christian or crypto-Christian, and most of its adherents are secular idealists. But Christians have provided crucial leadership, or to use a biblical term, they have been the leaven in the loaf.
Three Principles of Ecclesiastical Art Production From the Writings of Luther: Luther commented and wrote about art many times, yet he did not give a single list of parameters that one could use in the proper production of ecclesiastical art. For this, one must look more broadly at the writings of Luther and deduce from them […]
Lund and the Quest for Christian Unity: Baptist scholar Morris West has noted a question to be answered: “Should not our Churches ask themselves whether they are showing sufficient eagerness to enter into conversation with other Churches–and whether they should not act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them […]
Donation and Mutation: This 60 min. audio clip from RadioLab (advance 20 minutes from the start) presents a helpful and listen-able update on CRISPR gene technology. These simple genetic techniques are now on the cusp of radically changing how we think about the effect of scientific advancements on humanity. The program effectively broaches the ethical […]
Research Says: Young People Don’t Want Hip Pastors — Researchers at the Fuller Youth Institute report on a four-year study of congregations that are effectively engaging 15- to 29-year-olds. The 250 evangelical, mainline, and Catholic churches studied represent more than 20 denominations, in nearly 40 states, ranging from new plants to churches more than a century […]
Exodus: Why Americans are Leaving Religion—and Why They’re Unlikely to Come Back — A lack of belief in teaching of religion was the most commonly cited reason for disaffiliation. Among the important motivations in leaving their childhood religion are: they stopped believing in the religion’s teachings (60%), their family was never that religious when they were […]
A New Culture Of Cooperation In Academia Is Emerging: Students can gain a big-picture perspective from this brief essay. “Questions that span the curriculum (for a wide sample, go here) are essential to both scientific and humanistic research, having broad social implications. To a large extent, they are at the core of a liberal arts curriculum, […]
