Source: The very concept of freedom, including religious freedom, has ancient Christian roots. Contrary to popular perceptions, the precursors for modern ideas of liberty are rooted in Jewish scripture and the writings of early Christians such as St. Paul, Tertullian and Lactantius. Notions of universal human dignity and freedom were developed by Medieval scholastics and Protestant reformers, and were first codified in the American founding. In the late second and early third centuries, Tertullian became the first thinker in history... Read more

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From MIT: Trying to wrap your tongue around a phrase or short poem with repeated sounds is something that humans have been doing for centuries — at least that we know of: the practice probably goes back further than recorded history. We grew up giggling over tongue twisters like “Betty Botter bought a bit of butter” and “she sells sea shells by the sea shore” (and some more sweary variants). Researchers at MIT now claim that they’ve conceived the most... Read more

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The Joyful King of Riffraff When Princess of Wales, Diana, gave birth to Prince Henry Charles Albert David (“Harry”), it is reported that a town crier, dressed in bright costume and plumes, rang a huge bell and declared, “Her Royal Highness the Princess Diana has issued forth a second son.” Outside St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, over 300 news reporters and photographers jockeyed to get a scoop. There were two 41-gun military salutes. A child, third in line for... Read more

Elizabeth Tenety: Both left and right need to wake up. Francis is, at his heart, a spiritual leader. His mission may have political implications, but he has come to serve God, not advance the platform of the Democratic Party — and it’s presumptuous to imagine otherwise. Even in discussions of economic inequality, Francis sees the primacy of the faith: “I am firmly convinced that openness to the transcendent can bring about a new political and economic mindset, which would help... Read more

From Hacking Christianity: In my Sunday School class, I’ve been teaching a video series featuring Dr. Walter Brueggemann, an Old Testament professor and author. In February 2012, Brueggemann gave the three-day Barton Clinton-Gordey Lecture Series at Boston Avenue UMC on the topic of “Scarcity and Abundance in the Bible.” In the third lecture of the series, Brueggemann points to the following as the most important command in the Old Testament: In Deuteronomy 15, you get a law about seven years. It’s called the Year of Release. It... Read more