Southern Baptist Convention president J.D. Greear speaks at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., on June 9, 2019. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks
Need to know: Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Southern Baptist president says racial insensitivity shows disregard for the gospel
'The gospel teaches us that there’s only one kind of person: human,' said J.D. Greear.
Ahead of major meeting, Catholic bishops face pressure to act on abuse crisis
The sex abuse scandal, which continues to roil the church from the parishes to the pope, will likely be the foremost topic of discussion at the three-day U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting (June 11-13).
Traditional Christians provoke debate within a new conservative coalition
Despite a public space rigged against their version of the good, traditional Christians do manage to convince people with very different views of the truth of their claims, writes Charles C. Camosy.
The struggle to find silence in the ancient monastic world — and now
Christian monasticism developed in part because people were seeking the solace of quiet places. But for them, like us, it was a struggle, writes Kim Haines-Eitzen.
Deep in the Muslim heart of Texas, a farm family provides halal meat
A Houston-area couple is trying to offer a smaller-scale, more humane alternative to conventional slaughterhouses.
Sri Lanka responds to Islamist terrorism by terrorizing Muslims
The police are doing little to prevent mob attacks.
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Southern Baptist report condemns ‘epidemic’ of abuse, looks at ways to assist victims
The 'Caring Well' report also summarizes a range of next steps to address the issue for years to come, including educating congregations about abuse, preparing them to help survivors, and fostering abuse prevention.
To DC Dykes, the Star of David is a nationalist symbol; to Jews it’s a sign of faith
For queer Jews, the rainbow flag with the Star of David has nothing to do with Israel. They say it’s a Jewish symbol and an ancient one at that, predating the modern State of Israel by more than 1,500 years.
Catholic bishops and laypeople may live in different news bubbles
Only 4% of bishops named MSNBC as their preferred news station, compared to 28% of Catholics overall who listed it as a source for information about government and politics.
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What religion is David Brooks, anyway?
As Johnny Cash would have said: David Brooks walks the line.
In the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting, finding a new Jewish voice at Shavuot
Many of the things that those killed did helped others find their own Jewish voices. And that, in some ways, is what Shavuot is about, writes Beth Kissileff.
Mormonism is pro-environment
Mormon theology demands that we take care of the earth--and guest blogger Mette Harrison says the "make it do or do without" values of her LDS childhood helped her learn to do that.
