After the jump, the top religion news stories of 2013, based on a poll of the Religion Newswriters Association. Strangely downplayed or omitted: the persecution of Christians in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; the new assaults on religious liberty; the new prominence of aggressive atheism; the rise of the “nones.”
What do you think should be included? What do you think of this list? Was 2013 a good year or a bad year for religion? (more…)
Pope Francis and the Roman Catholic hierarchy are reportedly re-considering the practice of denying Communion to Catholics who have divorced and remarried.
Details after the jump. Notice in the church debates over the issue how we can see Rome’s teaching that the Sacrament is for those who are holy, rather than for those who need the forgiveness of sins. We also see Rome’s opposition to divorce, while still allowing divorce-like annulments. (more…)
American foreign policy is in the toilet, with our adversaries not respecting us and our allies not trusting us. Pundits here and abroad have been proclaiming the end of America’s global dominance. And yet, if you factor out our government’s ineptitude, the United States has quite a bit going for it globally. See what two think tankers have to say about this. (more…)
In Brazil a man suffered a stroke, whereupon he started giving away his money, giving food to street children, and being so kind to everyone that he has been diagnosed as having “pathological generosity.” Interestingly, his condition made him lose his job as a manager for a large corporation. (more…)
More evidence of Luther’s point about Roman Catholics and Protestant “enthusiasts” being basically the same in thinking God speaks to them directly and experientially, apart from His Word:
“God told me to do it,” the 86-year-old former pontiff told a friend, six months after his decision to step down shocked the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. (more…)
Pope Francis, responding to reporters’ questions, said, “Who am I to judge gay people?” Though what he said about homosexuality and gay priests is being hailed as a revolutionary change, he really didn’t alter church teaching. He just spun it differently. After the jump, an account of what he said and some reflections. (more…)
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