Every now and then, the Supreme Court surprises its critics by getting something absolutely, completely right: Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, decided on Wednesday, is just such a case. The Court held that the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment—both the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause—prohibit any government interference with the employment relationship between a religious body and those it in good faith (so to speak) considers its “ministers”: those leaders, teachers,... Read more

There may be a straw in the wind in yesterday’s ruling, with respect to the Obama administration’s determination to compel the coverage of contraceptive and abortifacient drugs in health insurance policies, even ones for religious institutions. The only “religious exception” offered so far by the Department of Health and Human Services to its contraceptive coverage mandate is an exemption so narrow, for religious organizations that employ and serve only their own co-religionists, that even the ministry of Jesus would not... Read more

A third interpretation sometimes heard is the related claim that the priest and the Levite avoid the victim because, should he be dead, or die while they attended him, they would become ritually unclean. Therefore, in avoiding the injured man, they are actually following Torah. Again, nonsense. Yes, priests are to avoid corpses (see Leviticus 21:1–3), save for those of immediate family members, but this law does not apply to Levites. Were the priest concerned about the purity required by... Read more

OCR’s sweeping prohibition of “harassment” and “bullying” carries serious First Amendment implications. May a student express a negative opinion of illegal immigration, or could that be prohibited as harassment toward Latino students? May a boy argue in a public-speaking class that women should not be allowed in combat, or could that be prohibited as harassment toward female students? Troubling hypotheticals abound. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/01/4526 Read more

Friday, February 10 @ 7:30 p.m., Antrim Chapel. “Jonathan Edwards and the Future of Global Christianity.” Lecture by Michael McClymond, a historical theologian at Saint Louis University and an internationally recognized Jonathan Edwards scholar.. The lecture is sponsored by the Blakley Fund for Evangelical Studies. No tickets required. Sunday, March 18 @ 5:00pm, Pickle Lounge. “Was Paul a Good Jew? The Apostle, Torah and Acts 21.” Lecture by Dr. David Rudolph (PhD, Cambridge University). No tickets required. Wednesday, April 4... Read more

I was, for many years, an imperfect atheist. After decades in Chabad and other haredi and Orthodox communities, I concluded that logic dictated that God—at least as Jews have usually defined Him—does not exist. But at the same time, I still had a personal belief in that God, something rooted deep inside of me, a belief that transcended logic. Then I bought a copy of God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, who died last month at the age of... Read more

The Massachusetts Medical Society recently voted to affirm its opposition to physician-assisted suicide. This vote matters because a movement is now afoot to de-criminalize assisted suicide in Massachusetts (and elsewhere). If successful, this movement would enlist physicians to assist in acts of self-murder. The physicians want no part in that. The president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, Lynda Young, stated, “Physicians of our Society have clearly declared that physician-assisted suicide is inconsistent with the physician’s role as healer and health... Read more

For a number of years, there has been a contentious public debate in the United States on homosexuality and, more recently, same-sex marriage. Like any other social issue, Americans hold diverse opinions on these two issues. However, a not-so-subtle part of the recent public discourse has been treating these different topics—homosexuality and same sex-marriage—in tandem, rather than separately. This line of reasoning suggests that opposition to gay marriage is synonymous with being anti-gay. But do the data support such a... Read more

Although the “Old Testament God” is also merciful and loving, He also has an uncharacteristic “violent strand,” Boyd explained. He claimed: “[This] picture of God is very very different than the one we see in Christ.” According to the pastor, although a sacrificing Christ called for nonviolence and love, Jehovah was “positively hateful” and “merciless” at times. “Here we have a Bible that is divinely inspired and yet here we have these contradictory pictures of God,” Boyd observed. http://www.theird.org/page.aspx?pid=2232+&erid=1397370&trid=79a3b631-8297-4e73-a97f-0458dc649343 Read more

Despite the perception of North Korea as a country hermetically sealed to the outside — and despite the very real risks — dozens, if not hundreds, of Christian missionaries operate inside the country, sometimes living there for months at a stretch, in the capital, Pyongyang, or in the Rason region, near the country’s Chinese border. Some run factories, distributing bread and soy milk to the poor. Others work for NGOs or universities, like the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology,... Read more