2013-01-30T16:29:53-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:29 pm   By

It’s an election year, which means the folks in evangelical Protestant pews know exactly what will happen if they choose to talk to a political pollster. The dispassionate telephone voice is going to ask about abortion and then about same-sex marriage. Finally, the pollster will want to know how crucial these wedge issues will be on election day. And is there any chance they might change their presidential options? “There is this internal debate going on. … Evangelicals are reluctant... Read more

2013-01-30T16:30:03-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:30 pm   By

At the first inauguration of George W. Bush as president, the Rev. Franklin Graham raised eyebrows by using an edgy word in his prayer. “May this be the beginning of a new dawn for America as we humble ourselves before you and acknowledge you alone as our Lord, our Savior and our Redeemer,” said Graham, the fiery son of evangelist Billy Graham. “We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and... Read more

2013-01-30T16:30:15-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:30 pm   By

Anyone who has lived in a minister’s house knows that middle-of-the-night telephone calls often bring bad news. But for many pastors there is one kind of call that is uniquely painful. There are times when the shock of death is easier to handle than questions about eternal life. “It happens like this,” noted the Rev. J. Gerald Harris, who became editor of the Southern Baptist newspaper of Georgia after 40 years in ministry. “A grieving widow would call and say with a broken heart and with... Read more

2013-01-30T16:30:28-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:30 pm   By

Believe it or not, Terry Mattingly is on a working vacation and took the week off — at least when it came time to write a Scripps Howard News Service column. Sue me. I have missed four in 20 years and, two of those times, I was just in or just out of the hospital. So here is something to read, anyway. It is a recent post from my weblog –GetReligion.org. If you want to read the interactive version, with the links to... Read more

2013-01-30T16:30:37-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:30 pm   By

For many years, Marc Newman used a simple test when asking college students if they thought some actions were always right and others were always wrong — slavery. Then something strange happened in his philosophy of communication classes. Students began arguing that slavery might be acceptable in certain cultures and under certain conditions. Besides, who were they to judge others? So here’s a new question. What if you had two ferries and each contained a bomb. One ferry is full... Read more

2013-01-30T16:30:45-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:30 pm   By

The career of Bishop Catherine Roskam of the Diocese of New York has been built on her skills as a cross-cultural ambassador for the modern Episcopal Church. She led the International Concerns Committee of her denomination’s executive council, helped create her diocese’s Global Women’s Fund and has worked as a consultant on issues of cultural sensitivity. In some circles, she is known as the bishop who dared to rap during a “Hip Hop Mass” a few years ago in the... Read more

2013-01-30T16:30:53-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:30 pm   By

For a dozen years, they hunted Europe’s most notorious war criminal. Investigators knew exactly where they thought they would find former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, the man accused of masterminding the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. After his July 21 arrest, most media reports echoed vague statements in The New York Times in which unidentified voices said Karadzic “eluded arrest so long by shaving his swoopy gray hair and disguising himself as a Serbian... Read more

2013-01-30T16:31:02-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:31 pm   By

The YouTube era has produced a few Catholic stars, priests whose performances have inspired scores of web surfers to pass along emails full of grief or glee. Who can forget “The Barney Blessing,” with the priest who traded his vestments for a purple dinosaur suit before the final prayer of a Halloween Mass? Then there was the trendy priest whose loopy dance to the altar, accompanied by trumpets and drums, inspired comparisons to Prince Ali’s arrival in the Disney classic... Read more

2013-01-30T16:31:11-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:31 pm   By

Few things in life cause more shame than encounters with con artists, those old-fashioned predators who know how to massage egos while selling snake oil by the barrel. But painful experiences can lead to big questions and critical insights into the state of one’s soul, said White House spokesman Tony Snow, giving the commencement address at the Catholic University of America in 2007. The key is to take a long look in the mirror, to stop making excuses and then... Read more

2013-01-30T16:31:20-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:31 pm   By

The politico facing Tim Russert was Vice Present Al Gore and their testy dialogue was one of the memorable moments during the 2000 White House race. RUSSERT: When do you think life begins? GORE: I favor the Roe vs. Wade approach, but let me just say, Tim, I did — RUSSERT: Which is what? When does life begin? GORE: Let me just say, I did change my position on the issue of federal funding and I changed it because I... Read more

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