General story
Kentucky clerk now fighting gay marriage in Romania
By Jerome Socolovsky — October 13, 2017
A Florida-based conservative Christian organization says that Kim Davis is visiting the Central European country this week to support a nationwide effort to explicitly ban gay marriage.
Trump, unlikely religious favorite, hails Christian values
By Jerome Socolovsky — October 13, 2017
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump assured a high-profile gathering of Christian conservatives that his administration will defend religious organizations, promising a return to traditional American values.
Photos of the Week: 10/06 – 10/12
By Shane Epping — October 13, 2017
(RNS) — This week's picks for our weekly gallery of religion photos from around the world.
Supreme Court asked to review North Carolina county prayer ruling
By Jerome Socolovsky — October 13, 2017
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lower court ruled that county commissioners' practice of leading the prayers themselves and inviting the audience to join, always in the Christian faith, violated the First Amendment by establishing Christianity as a preferred religion.
While church giving in the U.S. remains low, 40 countries are not on target to reach child death reduction goals: New empty tomb, inc. report
By Ron Ribiat — October 9, 2017
Church member giving as a percent of income in 2015 remained near the lowest levels in the 1968-2015 period.
Although a slight increase was measured from 2014 to 2015, the portions of income given to churches in 2014 and 2015 were among the lowest over four decades.
Meanwhile, 40 countries were not on target as of 2015 to meet global goals to reduce their under-age-five mortality rates.
For Native Americans, a river is more than a ‘person.’ It’s also a sacred place
By Rosalyn R. LaPier — October 9, 2017
(The Conversation) If a suit by an environmental group asking for personhood rights for the Colorado River is successful, it would mean lawsuits can brought on behalf of the river for any harm done to it, as if it were a person.
Freud and other ‘god-killers’ are here to stay
By Martin E. Marty — October 4, 2017
Many people of faith, including theologians, pick and choose elements in some of these rivals, considering that they cannot be ignored, but can be argued with across the spectrum of alternatives.
You have been warned, Pat Robertson!
By Richard Mouw — October 3, 2017
(RNS) It didn’t take long for some preachers tell us why God caused the horrible mass murder in Las Vegas to happen. The best response to such bad theology came from a bus driver I met several years ago in New Orleans, writes RNS columnist Richard Mouw.
Facebook enabled advertisers to reach ‘Jew haters’
By ProPublica — September 14, 2017
After being contacted by ProPublica, Facebook removed several anti-Semitic ad categories and promised to improve monitoring.
Pope asks ‘pro-life’ Trump to rethink young migrant decision
By Nicole Winfield — September 11, 2017
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis is urging President Donald Trump to rethink his decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation, saying anyone who calls himself "pro-life" should keep families together.
Brian Zahnd: No, God didn’t command genocide in the Old Testament
By Jonathan Merritt — August 29, 2017
The following is an adaptation from “Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God.” I have decided to feature it here because it was one of the most profound and readable theological reflections that I’ve encountered in my life. I highly recommend that you order it. Even a casual reader of the Bible notices that […]
The hatred in Charlottesville does not surprise me
By A. James Rudin — August 12, 2017
(RNS) — As a Jewish youngster growing up in Virginia, it was plain to see.
Beware of criminalizing physicians and parents for their religious traditions
By Aasim Padela — July 21, 2017
CHICAGO/ANN ARBOR, Mich (RNS) — We agree that FGM should disappear immediately. We only ask that all sides of this complex and difficult issue be heard.
Eugene Peterson had this to say about same-sex issues in 2014
By Jonathan Merritt — July 13, 2017
"I started to change my mind," Peterson says about the result of friendships with gay men in his church.
Eugene Peterson on Donald Trump and the state of American Christianity
By Jonathan Merritt — July 11, 2017
The 84-year-old bestselling author says, "Donald Trump is the enemy" and "megachurches are not churches."
