As evangelical leaders push for immigration reform, they prove yet again that politics makes strange bedfellows. The typically conservative group is allying with President Obama and congressional Democrats through a broad coalition called the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT). Supporters of the EIT include Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, Matthew Staver of Liberty University, Jim Wallis of Sojourners, and more than 100 heads of evangelical denominations, colleges, and organizations. Together, they have endorsed astatement calling for a bipartisan solution that,... Read more

Providing a leadership that heals the wounds of war and transforms the structures of governance into ones that meet the aspirations of both the ethnic majority and minorities is the continuing challenge for our beloved country.Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne in his address at Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies said, “It is my conviction that the vision and work of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement can contribute in some measure to reconciling the people of our country consisting of... Read more

Author and noted biopsychologist Nigel Barber has completed a new study that shows Atheism is most prevalent in developed countries, and, according to his projections, religion will completely disappear by 2041. His findings are discussed in his new book “Why Atheism Will Replace Religion.” A new study that clarifies his earlier research will be published in August. His findings focus on studying trends within countries around the world and the fact that “Atheists are heavily concentrated in economically developed countries”- In my... Read more

In the early hours of the morning on January 5, 1895, Mrs. Baptiste, “a colored woman,” found “a small black coffin” in front of her residence in New Orleans at Royal Street and Caffin. Once Baptiste realized what was on her stoop, a large crowd of residents congregated at her house and “considerable excitement prevailed.” Sergeant Hevron of the Fifth Precinct arrived and “took charge of the box.” With a hatchet he pried off the coffin’s lid and inside revealed... Read more

In June 1979, a coalition of conservative religious leaders led by a Jewish Howard Phillips, Catholic Paul Weyrich, and evangelical televangelist Jerry Falwell banded together to wage a political “holy war” against the liberal establishment. They called their organization the “Moral Majority” to signify the large number of social conservatives they believed were being ignored across American culture. Forming a political action committee, the organization registered 4 million votersin 1980 and purchased $10 million in radio and television ads questioning President... Read more

I still remember the first time I “confessed” that I watched porn. My ex-boyfriend and I were lying in bed after a passionate round of sex. Adrenaline coursing through my veins, I turned to him and said, “I need to tell you something. Don’t worry, it’s not bad. It’s just that…I watch porn”. I knew he was a fan of porn. I could even name his favorite porn star. But the moment I told him that I too watched porn,... Read more

by Edward BlumR3 Contributor*This first appeared in the Christian Century’s Then and Now When Barack Obama addressed the “Trayvon Martin ruling” Friday, he did more than offer his “thought and prayers” to the family of Martin, applaud them for their “incredible grace and dignity,” and narrate a history of racial surveillance that often leaves African Americans frustrated and even afraid. The president did more than acknowledge that the democratic judicial system had done its work, urge demonstrations to be peaceful, and call... Read more

Religion is in trouble in the United States. The word, that is. Sociologists say that we are increasingly divided over religion’s place in public life but that when it comes to language, Americans are moving in one direction: toward a new vernacular. We’re no longer “religious.” We’re “holy.” We’re “faithful.” We’re “spiritual.” We talk about what “the gospel compels us to do” or “gospel living.” Or “sabbatical living” and “God-oriented behavior.” This is true across the ideological range, but for... Read more

            What better way to start than with Woody Allen?  “I am plagued by doubts,” he said.  “What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists?  In that case, I definitely overpaid for the carpet.  If only God would give me some clear sign; like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss Bank”.             Since you’ve been sitting in this audience, you have, no doubt, had a string of doubts – did... Read more

All you need to know to understand America is that the FBI is made up of Catholics and Southerners. This is because Catholics and Southerners have to try to show they are more loyal than most Americans, since Southerners have a history of disloyalty and Americans fear that Catholics may owe their allegiance to some guy in Rome. That is why the FBI is given the task of examining graduates of Harvard and Yale – that is, high-culture Protestants who,... Read more