Kimberly Winston
Kimberly Winston is a freelance religion reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
All Stories by Kimberly Winston
Secret orders and supposed traitors — TV’s ‘Dig’ and religious history
By Kimberly Winston — April 16, 2015
(RNS) In the show's seventh episode, evil archaeologist Ian Margove (Richard E. Grant) is after the “treasure” the Order of Moriah is supposed to have buried somewhere in Jerusalem.
The ‘Splainer: The many Thomases of ‘Wolf Hall’
By Kimberly Winston — April 10, 2015
(RNS) There are four main characters named Thomas in PBS' "Wolf Hall." Here's a who's who and a look at why these four Thomases are important to religion today.
Digging under Mount Moriah with TV’s ‘Dig’
By Kimberly Winston — April 9, 2015
(RNS) Jerusalem syndrome and the binding of Isaac are among the themes in this week's episode of the USA Network’s biblical conspiracy action series “Dig.”
Five faith facts about Rand Paul: ‘My faith has never been easy for me’
By Kimberly Winston — April 7, 2015
(RNS) Sen. Randal Howard “Rand” Paul, the junior Republican from Kentucky, launched his 2016 presidential campaign on Tuesday (April 7) in Louisville. Here are five facts about the faith background of this libertarian conservative: * Paul, 52, was baptized an Episcopalian. It didn’t stick. He attended Baylor University, a Baptist school in Texas, then Duke […]
‘Dig’ unearths a possible messiah complex
By Kimberly Winston — April 2, 2015
(RNS) "He is coming." With those words, "Dig," the action-thriller fueled by biblical prophesy, dives deeper into Judaism in its fifth episode.
The Egg-‘Splainer: What is Holy Week and Easter all about?
By Kimberly Winston — April 1, 2015
(RNS) Happy Holy Week! Why is Good Friday "good," and how did Jesus stretch 36 hours from the crucifixion to his resurrection into three days? And what's up with the colored eggs? Let us 'Splain.
Atheists mourn the slaying of a second Bangladeshi blogger in a month
By Kimberly Winston — March 31, 2015
(RNS) Washiqur Rahman was silenced. But atheists, humanists and other nonbelievers in the U.S. won't be. They're speaking out about his death.
TV’s ‘Dig’ unrolls a Dead Sea Scroll to unravel a conspiracy
By Kimberly Winston — March 26, 2015
(RNS) What do you get when you combine end-of-the-world scenarios with biblical archaeology in a television action series? "Dig" continues to mix fact and fiction.
HBO’s ‘Going Clear’ leaves future of Scientology unclear
By Kimberly Winston — March 26, 2015
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (RNS) Will HBO's scathing documentary of Scientology, which airs March 29, prompt the secretive, litigious church to change? Don't bet on it.
Atheist group faces questions over how donations were raised — and spent
By Kimberly Winston — March 24, 2015
(RNS) An atheist group that raised funds after national disasters is facing questions about its tax-exempt promises to donors and how the money was spent.
‘Dig’ TV series starts adding up: Watch the numbers
By Kimberly Winston — March 19, 2015
(RNS) USA Network's action-thriller series is tossing biblical numerology and a difficult biblical text into its plot. What's real and what's fiction?
Zaytuna College recognized as first accredited Muslim college in the US
By Kimberly Winston — March 18, 2015
BERKELEY, Calif. (RNS) Zaytuna -- the Arabic word for the olive tree -- remains unique among American colleges and universities. It requires students to learn Arabic so they can study Islamic texts, including the Quran, in their original language.
Prominent San Francisco evangelical church drops celibacy requirement for LGBT members
By Kimberly Winston — March 16, 2015
(RNS) City Church’s action places it in the ranks of at least two other large, urban evangelical congregations that have reversed their policies requiring celibacy for gay members.
‘Dig’ uncovers an ancient Jewish sect and some scary nuns
By Kimberly Winston — March 12, 2015
(RNS) Biblical breastplates, menacing nuns and an apocalyptic Jewish sect. What is behind all that religious jazz in the second episode of “Dig," which aired Thursday (March 12) on the USA Network?
The ‘Splainer: Who was St. Patrick, and would he drink green beer?
By Kimberly Winston — March 12, 2015
For Catholics, Episcopalians and some Lutherans, March 17 is the Feast Day of St. Patrick. For the rest of us, it’s St. Patrick’s Day — a midweek excuse to party until we’re green in the face. But who was Patrick? Did he really drive the snakes out of Ireland or use the shamrock to explain […]
