Best of RNS
In the South, a new helping hand: Muslim disaster relief teams
By Yonat Shimron — August 24, 2017
PRINCEVILLE, N.C. (RNS) — At a time when the far right often cites the inability of Muslims to assimilate, these young volunteers are providing emergency aid, labor and comfort to people suffering the effects of natural disasters.
Contested sacred space USA: Conflict and cooperation in the heartland
By Kimberly Winston — August 11, 2017
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (RNS) — From Jerusalem to Ayodhya, the world has no shortage of contested religious sites. But here in the U.S., the three largest Mormon denominations have found a way to peacefully share places that all of them hold sacred.
Mormons in space: Sci-fi or no lie?
By Kimberly Winston — July 26, 2017
(RNS) — Mormons are frequently the creators, subjects and consumers of science fiction — perhaps more than any other faith group.
A Buddhist prayer festival fills a remote Tibetan village with color
By Alexandra Radu — July 20, 2017
(RNS) — Every year, between the sixth and seventh months of the lunar calendar, nomad tribes gather in the tiny Tibetan village of Ser Geyrgo for a prayer festival that is meant to invoke heaven.
Does it matter to me that McCain and I now share a diagnosis? Maybe.
By Jeffrey Weiss — July 20, 2017
(RNS) — 'I hope that his experiences are public enough that it helps many people understand this awful illness,' writes Jeffrey Weiss.
Conservative evangelicals revel in their ‘unprecedented’ presidential access
By Adelle M. Banks — July 19, 2017
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Meanwhile, most everyone else is kept at arm's length.
When the evangelical establishment comes after you
By David P. Gushee — July 17, 2017
(RNS) — Whatever abuse you take for standing with LGBTQ people is nothing compared to the abuse they suffer every day.
Eugene Peterson reminds us: The Christian LGBT debate is far from over
By Jacob Lupfer — July 14, 2017
(RNS) — For opinionated elites, he has simultaneously been a hero and a villain in the same week. But for everyday Christians reading about the controversy, Eugene Peterson is exactly where they are: confused, conflicted, and torn.
Eugene Peterson backtracks on same-sex marriage
By Jonathan Merritt — July 13, 2017
(RNS) — After condemnation from conservatives and a Christian bookstore's threat to ban his books, 'The Message' author says he regrets telling RNS columnist Jonathan Merritt that he would officiate a same-sex wedding.
Eugene Peterson on changing his mind about same-sex issues and marriage
By Jonathan Merritt — July 12, 2017
The 84-year-old best-selling author says he would perform a same-sex wedding if he were a pastor today.
Medieval mystic maintains hold on the artistic imagination
By Kimberly Winston — July 10, 2017
CHICAGO (RNS) When she died on a pyre in 1431, she achieved an immortality in art and literature that surpasses all of her contemporaries and continues in a new photography exhibit by Susan Aurinko.
Experts say Hobby Lobby must have known it was illegally importing artifacts
By Lauren Markoe — July 6, 2017
(RNS) 'No dealer in his right mind would have been involved in this,' said Jerome Eisenberg, an antiquities dealer who has specialized in ancient art for more than 60 years.
Attending church is good for your health. Now what?
By Yonat Shimron — July 6, 2017
(RNS) Even as the studies pile up and the literature appears close to conclusive, many questions about the association between religious service attendance and health have yet to be answered.
Reformed churches endorse Catholic-Lutheran accord on key Reformation dispute
By Tom Heneghan — July 6, 2017
PARIS (RNS) Five hundred years after the Reformation, one of Protestantism’s leading branches has officially said it now agrees with the Vatican on the main issue at the root of its split from the Roman Catholic Church.
‘Portrait of a Bride’ tells the story of a market in Jewish art
By Yonat Shimron — July 3, 2017
NEW YORK (RNS) Isidor Kaufmann got rich selling paintings of Hasidic Jews to assimilated Jews. Today, Hasidic Jews are snapping up his works.
