A new semester is underway and I get to teach my new, favorite class, Religion and Sexuality. And the timing couldn’t be better! Twerking Miley, bouncing Beyonce, and tantalizing Thicke are providing excellent source material for our upcoming discussions. Many would argue our sex-obsessed culture is prominently on display in these musical examples of young libido unleashed and unabashed for children and senior citizens alike to see on old and new media. A sign of the times, the end times... Read more

How did Syria go from an internal uprising to a wider clash drawing funding and fighters from across the region? In a word, Middle East experts say, religion. Shiite Muslims from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran have flooded into Syria to defend sacred sites and President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled regime. Sunni Muslims, some affiliated with al Qaeda, have rushed in to join rebels, most of whom are Sunni.  Both sides use religious rhetoric as a rallying cry, calling each other “infidels” and “Satan’s... Read more

by Crystal St. Marie LewisR3 Contributor *This first appeared on the Crystal St. Marie Lewis Blog I just finished reading an interesting essay titled “Why Everything We Know About the Bible is Wrong” by Robert M. Fowler. I found one of the arguments in the essay so important that I felt I should share it with all of you. According to Fowler, one of the fundamental problems for 21st century Bible readers is the literacy divide between the Bible’s readers and... Read more

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by Candice BenbowR3 ContributorMuch has been said regarding an exchange between media mogul Tyler Perry and Bishop TD Jakes at Bishop Jakes’ church, one day after the close of Bishop Jakes’ Megafest Conference. In the clip, Perry says that he was instructed by the Holy Spirit to give over $1million dollars to Jakes’ ministry, specifically to his new youth center endeavor. Perry, then, speaks in tongues, lays hands and prays over Bishop Jakes- who is noticeably overcome with emotion to... Read more

Several Catholic bishops have threatened that, if made to comply with the HHS ruling requiring Catholic hospitals to indirectly pay for their employees’ birth control, the Catholic church will have no choice but to “give up its health care institutions for Lent.” As Cardinal George argues: What will happen if the HHS regulations are not rescinded? A Catholic institution, so far as I can see right now, will have one of four choices: 1) secularize itself, breaking its connection to the... Read more

by Cedrick Von JacksonR3 Contributor Many of us may remember the childhood story of Hansel and Gretel, where two abandoned tikes attempt to no avail to navigate their way home by leaving a trail of breadcrumbs in the forest. Of course, birds come along, devouring the breadcrumbs, leaving the young travelers lost in the woods. “Following the Breadcrumb Path: Navigating the Journey Toward God, Justice, and Love” attempts to extend this theme beyond simply finding home. What I aimed for... Read more

Cedrick Von Jackson serves as Pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary BaptistChurch, Sardis, MS. Prior to being called to Mt. Zion, he served as Minister of Music/Associate Minister at his childhood church, Second Baptist Church in Coldwater, MS.  He is a Phi Kappa Phi honor graduate from the University of Mississippi, where he earned both a B.A. degree in Elementary Education and a M.A. degree in Educational Leadership.  He has almost 20 years’ experience as an educator. He completed M.Div. studies... Read more

R3 contributor Kimberly Peeler-Ringer will co-host the SistahSpeak show; a show for, by, and about women. SistahSpeak is broadcast on WENO 760-AM in Nashville on Saturday afternoons from 2:00pm-3:00pm. The show’s theme for the month of September is “Media Images of Black Women.” Sub-topics will include the stereotypes of Black women, the psychological impact of negative images, images of Black women in church, and images of Black women in film and television. You can listen live here.  Read more

“What’s outrageous? Poverty wages!” This chant, echoed by thousands of striking fast food workers as they marched in the streets in New York, Chicago, and dozens of other cities on August 29, has begun to arouse the American conscience this Labor Day. The fast food industry produces billions in profits for corporations like McDonald’s and Burger King. But, according to the organizers of the recent walkouts, fast food workers in New York City make only 25% of what they need... Read more