What is the moral status of sex outside of marriage?

Last updated on: November 4, 2013 at 10:07 pm By Richard Ostling

ANNE ASKS: Do we have to get married to have sex? What does the Bible teach? THE GUY ANSWERS: The questioner lives outside the United States, reminding us this affects all devout Christians and Jews (also adherents of Islam and other non-biblical faiths) coping with the “new morality” promoted in entertainment media and western society more generally. The discussion typically treats “premarital sex” among teens and young adults, but Anne is a “mature woman” who believes the Bible teaches sex... Read more

KKK hoods, ‘two angels’ and a frustrating ghost

Last updated on: November 3, 2013 at 4:28 pm By Tamie Ross

It’s a “where are they now” story that I was intrigued to read, since I had missed the first installment back in 1996. The 2013 update promised drama, forgiveness, lessons learned and perhaps racial reconciliation. Oh, and as a bonus: a faith element. Darn the ghost. Courtesy of GetReligion reader Kate comes this feature from BBC Magazine — an inspiring piece about a young black woman named Keshia Thomas. At a 1996 rally in Michigan, Thomas shielded a white supremacist... Read more

The Merc is shocked, shocked, by Santa Clara U move

Last updated on: November 3, 2013 at 2:19 pm By Mark Kellner

There’s nothing the mainstream press likes more than a controversy, even if it has to puff a protest to do so. In early October, Santa Clara University, in the heart of Silicon Valley, decided it would no longer provide health insurance that pays for elective abortions. Given that SCU is a Roman Catholic school run by the Jesuits, that decision shouldn’t have been all that surprising. Nevertheless, the editorial team at The San Jose Mercury News was shocked — shocked!... Read more

C.S. Lewis the occultist and other rather obvious errors

Last updated on: November 3, 2013 at 8:41 am By geoconger

Here’s a dirty little secret that reporters don’t want you to know. When writing the back story or filler for a news item, we often rely on our knowledge of a topic to flesh out a story. While some newspapers used to boast that they fact-checked every statement before releasing a story to a waiting world, that degree of rigor has disappeared. Budgets cuts have reduced editorial staff who were once tasked with cleaning up stories, while at the same... Read more

Pod people: Does it matter if celebrities/royals have faith?

Last updated on: November 2, 2013 at 1:15 pm By tmatt

As the old saying goes, Americans don’t have a royal family. We have celebrities. We even live in a day in which it is terribly important for American political leaders to be perceived as celebrities, with as much cool clout as possible if they want to be successful. Ask Mitt Romney about how that works out in the real world. Meanwhile, the members of Great Britain’s royal family are now, arguably, the most important, the most popular, the most omnipresent... Read more

Is Columbia, Md., really a spirit-enriching secular city?

Last updated on: November 1, 2013 at 5:44 pm By tmatt

I am not a huge fan of Utopian visions, but I have always had a fond place in my heart for the dreamers who have invested time and money in the movement known as New Urbanism. I love older neighborhoods that are close to shopping areas, especially those that have retained their old trees, wide sidewalks and other evidence that human life existed before automobiles. So I read with great interest that recent news feature on the front page of... Read more

Ghosts in blue-state — er, red-state — West Virginia?

Last updated on: November 1, 2013 at 9:45 am By Bobby Ross Jr.

There’s a lot to digest in the Washington Post’s nearly 4,000-word political road trip to West Virginia, headlined “A blue state’s road to red.” Even at that word count — mammoth for a newspaper — it’s a definite challenge to boil down an entire state, its people and their attitudes and way of life into a single story. Does the Post provide an accurate portrayal? Or does it traffic in stereotypes and condescension? Since I don’t live in West Virginia, I’m not... Read more

WPost examines the demons (and a ghost) in ‘The Exorcist’

Last updated on: October 31, 2013 at 3:35 pm By tmatt

It’s that time of year again, the time when reporters keep trying to reach author William Peter Blatty to talk about pea soup, noises in the night, long flights of stairs and the degree to which human necks can swivel. Consider this one-liner, drawn from a much better than normal chat with the author just published in the Washington Post: “As I say, every Halloween I’m dragged out of my burrow like some demonic Punxsutawney Phil,” says Blatty, a hale... Read more

Why did Time fabricate a quote? Correct

Last updated on: October 31, 2013 at 1:34 pm By geoconger

“Jerry, just remember. It’s not a lie if you believe it.” George Costanza, “The Beard”, Seinfeld, Episode 102, 9 Feb 1995. Time Magazine‘s “Swampland” blog appears to have fabricated a quote in its story about the revision of the Air Force Academy’s honor code. While one may well assume mistake or malice lay behind the creation of a quote, there is the suggestion of deeper purpose. In reporting on the contretemps over the Academy’s honor code, Time might well have... Read more

Define ‘practicing Catholic;’ report the Virginia options

Last updated on: October 30, 2013 at 6:53 pm By tmatt

Surely it will come as little surprise to faithful readers of this hear blog to learn that your GetReligionistas are not fond of the term “devout Catholic,” a foggy, meaningless label that is used way too often in mainstream news reports. Several years ago, when writing about one rather extreme case (I’m not joking!) of “devout Catholic” syndrome, I noted: You see, of all the labels used by journalists to describe believers — from “apostate” to “zealot” — surely “devout”... Read more