rns-ee-migration
NEWS SIDEBAR: Cultivating mysticism in everyday life
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Simply put, a mystical experience is a direct inner realization of the Divine. This may be manifest as powerful feelings of a sacred, invisible presence; visions of light and otherworldly figures such as angels or saints; voices of wisdom, or sublime emotions of love, peace and bliss. As […]
EASTER FEATURE: The evangelist, the president and the `craft’ of forgiveness
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ They were words whispered in one final, tortured breath:”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even as Jesus hung on the cross, badly beaten and nearly dead, he mustered the strength to petition God on behalf of his murderers. Indeed, extending forgiveness _ to the […]
FEATURE SIDEBAR: Witchy flicks
By Steve Rabey — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Witches _ both good and wicked _ have been recurring characters in American films for 60 years. The”Witchcraft”listing in”Videohound’s Golden Movie Retriever”features nearly 100 movies available on video. Here are some of the more memorable and important films: The Wizard of Oz (1939). This Oscar-winning classic film, which […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Tour dates for `Angels from the Vatican’
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Here are the cities and dates for”The Invisible Made Visible: Angels from the Vatican”exhibit, which opened in Los Angeles this week: Los Angeles, Feb. 4_April 12, 1998: UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center. Saint Louis, May 9_Aug. 2, 1998: Saint Louis Art Museum. […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: `The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies’
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Here’s a look at the films featured in Kathryn Bernheimer’s”The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies.” 1.”The Chosen”(1981):”One of the most profoundly Jewish films ever made,”this adaptation of the Chaim Potok novel explores the friendship between two Jewish boys, shedding insight on the”tension between different branches of Judaism.” 2.”Fiddler on […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Some albums that probe spiritual, philosophical issues in secular music
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Long dismissed by many as superficial and shallow, pop music has a long history of exploring serious philosophical and religious themes. Here’s a short list of ten significant albums. 1969: King Crimson,”In the Court of the Crimson King” Nihilism never sounded so good as the haunting postmodern masterpiece,”Epitaph,”which […]
HOLIDAY FEATURE: `A Christmas Carol’ _ literature as sacred tradition
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ One hundred and fifty-five years ago, Christmas was in crisis. A holiday celebrated in the castles and great halls of medieval England was slowly being eroded by urbanization. That is, until the year Charles Dickens came along with a lively tale of ghosts and greed that changed it […]
HOLIDAY FEATURE: Finding the soul of Christmas in the mystical Christ within
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Christmas is a holiday rich with time-honored festivities: warm family gatherings, convivial parties, gifts given and received, city streets strung with twinkling lights, plates heaped high with culinary treats. However the lavish gaity that permeates this time of year all too-easily obscures the holiday’s spiritual heart _ Jesus’ […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Excerpts from the Social Principles
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Following are excerpts from the guideline-like Social Principles of the United Methodist Church: Animal life: We support regulations that protect the life and health of animals, including those ensuring the humane treatment of pets and other domestic animals, animals used in research, and the painless slaughtering of meat […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Sources for the new religious humanism
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Following is information on sources, products and events connected to the new religious humanism: _ Center for Religious Humanism, 323 South Broad Street, P.O. Box, 674, Kennett Square, Pa., 19348. _ Image: A Journal of the Arts & Religion, costs $30 for an annual subscription of four issues. […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Catholic bishops on Labor Day: not a picnic for everyone
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Following is the text of the 1998 Labor Day statement issued by the U.S. Catholic Conference, the social policy arm of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. It was written by Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., chairman of the USCC’s committee on domestic policy:”On Labor Day, […]
EASTER FEATURE: The enduring symbol of the cross
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ For many Christians, the cross remains the central symbol of their faith, a sign of spiritual rebirth and renewal. But in Jesus’ time, the cross was a despised means of execution and symbolized betrayal. Only the lowest of criminals _ robbers, deserters, traitors and rebels _ were forced […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Jerusalem girds for masses of millennial pilgrims
By Elaine Fletcher — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service JERUSALEM _ Extending from the ancient steps of the Temple Mount to the Kidron Valley, the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, the new”Valley of the Kings”is Jerusalem’s showcase for its year 2000 celebrations. The massive network of gardens, pedestrian promenades and archeological excavations links key Christian sites […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Ancient Bethlehem being spruced up for new millennium
By Elaine Fletcher — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service BETHLEHEM, West Bank_ In the past, the pilgrims would come for just a few hours to take a quick peek at the Church of the Nativity revered as the site of Jesus’ birth before climbing back into their buses to return to hotels in Jerusalem. Now, Palestinians are hoping that […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: The quotable Kathleen Norris
By Steve Rabey — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ In”Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith”(Riverhead), writer Kathleen Norris gives a fresh spin to some ancient Christian terms. Prayer Prayer is not asking for what you think you want but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine. Doubt Perhaps my most important breakthrough with regard to […]
