Mark I. Pinsky

Mark I. Pinsky is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Mark I. Pinsky

Luis Palau, globe-trotting evangelist, is dead at 86

By Mark I. Pinsky — March 11, 2021

(RNS) — Over the past half century, the Luis Palau Association, based in Beaverton, Oregon, estimates that it has reached 30 million people in 75 countries.

Does anyone ‘own’ the Holocaust? An Orlando controversy inflames the issue

By Mark I. Pinsky — December 21, 2020

ORLANDO (RNS) — A Holocaust memorial center in Florida sparks controversy for an exhibit on modern racism, with many saying it diminishes the reality of anti-Semitism and the atrocities of the Holocaust.

‘Pro-life Evangelicals for Biden’ signers face a fiery blowback

By Mark I. Pinsky — October 23, 2020

ORLANDO (RNS) — After Joel Hunter recently announced support for former Vice President Joe Biden, a local Christian radio station cancelled Hunter’s devotionals, hosts withdrew (or postponed) speaking invitations and a social media hostility barrage erupted.

How Jay Sekulow got to the floor of the US Senate

By Mark I. Pinsky — January 22, 2020

(RNS) — Jay Sekulow, a lawyer with an outsized reputation for First Amendment defenses, may have another high-profile slam-dunk on his hands.

Memorial for Reinhard Bonnke, ‘the Billy Graham of Africa,’ draws thousands

By Mark I. Pinsky — January 4, 2020

ORLANDO, Fla.(RNS) — The Pentecostal pastor died Dec. 7 in Orlando, where he moved his international ministry, Christ for All Nations, in the early 2000s.

Are white evangelicals the missing piece for Southern Dems?

By Mark I. Pinsky — September 25, 2019

(RNS) — An anti-abortion Democrat who is unafraid of faith issues could lure enough evangelicals and turn some key Southern swing states — if the party's secular base will let them.

‘Best of Enemies’: Real faith and racial reconciliation on the big screen

By Mark I. Pinsky — March 25, 2019

(RNS) — A true-to-life, if farfetched, buddy movie demonstrates the possibility of racial reconciliation forged through a shared Christian faith.

Joel Hunter to step down from Orlando megachurch

By Mark I. Pinsky — August 2, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) — For the past two decades, Hunter urged his fellow evangelicals to move toward more moderate, center-right positions on issues such as climate change, immigration and LGBTQ people.

Can an evangelical, progressive Democrat succeed in Florida?

By Mark I. Pinsky — June 12, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) The jury is out on whether Chris King is political unicorn, an oddity, or the answer to the Democrats’ prayers.

Did soon-to-be-saint Junipero Serra meet his era’s highest moral standards? (COMMENTARY)

By Mark I. Pinsky — September 22, 2015

(RNS) Pope Francis' canonization of Junipero Serra highlights the Vatican’s sometimes contradictory standards for sanctity when it comes to European missionaries.

25 years later, houses of worship living up to spirit of Disabilities Act (ANALYSIS)

By Mark I. Pinsky — July 24, 2015

(RNS) Although the the law didn’t require accommodation and accessibility in places of worship, many went ahead and did it anyway.

Martin Scorsese directs movie about Jesuit mission to 17th-century Japan

By Mark I. Pinsky — August 11, 2014

(RNS) The historical drama “Silence,” stars Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson and begins shooting in Taiwan later this year. Based on Shusaku Endo’s 1980 novel of the same name, it's a dark, true tale set in 17th-century Japan.

Tim Chey’s ‘Final: The Rapture’ adapts ‘horror movie’ label

By Mark I. Pinsky — February 21, 2014

(RNS) In an interview outside the Orlando multiplex where his film, "Final: The Rapture" is playing, Tim Chey said he’s comfortable with the Christian horror movie label, or even “Christian disaster movie.”

COMMENTARY: War on Poverty anniversary recalls religion’s role in Appalachia

By Mark I. Pinsky — January 8, 2014

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. (RNS) On the 50th anniversary of the launch of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, it is worth recalling that Appalachia was a magnet for missionaries, both religious and secular. They failed, in part, because they did not respect the strong beliefs and culture of the region.

U.S. nuns strike a positive note on Vatican investigation

By Mark I. Pinsky — August 19, 2013

(RNS) After its four-day annual assembly, the board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents 80 percent of the nation’s 57,000 sisters, emphasized the positive and remained tight-lipped about negotiations over the doctrinal investigation launched by the Vatican two years ago.

Page 1 of 2

Page 2 →