2013-01-30T16:40:51-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:40 pm   By

Cartoonist Doug Marlette got used to hearing people mix comments about his humor with references to Almighty God. After all, one of the main characters in his syndicated comic strip “Kudzu” was the Rev. Will B. Dunn, a deep-fried Southern preacher who always remained optimistic, even as he battled with the insanity of modern life (especially trendy Bible translations). Meanwhile, Marlette’s political cartoons often inspired readers to barrage editors with the kind of God talk that cannot be printed in... Read more

2013-01-30T16:41:01-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:41 pm   By

The rumor spread across Pakistan in a blitz of text messages on cellphones. There was a killer virus on the loose and all you had to do to catch it was answer a call from an infected number. The virus didn’t hurt cellphones, but would — eyewitnesses confirmed this — cause users to drop dead. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority was forced to issue a denial telling users that it was safe to turn their phones back on. Then there were... Read more

2013-01-30T16:41:09-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:41 pm   By

Like any other Bible Belt state, Arkansas contains more than its share of church camps. Gov. Mike Huckabee thought about that after Hurricane Katrina. The ordained Southern Baptist minister also knew that the summer camping season was over and that thousands of people fleeing New Orleans had to go somewhere. “I saw on TV people on the bridges of Interstate 10 stranded for days without water, and I thought, this isn’t Rwanda. This isn’t Indonesia. … This was the United... Read more

2013-01-30T16:41:17-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:41 pm   By

Play the right guitar chords and worshippers in megachurch America will automatically start singing these words: “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above. With wisdom power and love, our God is an awesome God.” So Barack Obama caused raised eyebrows when he turned to that page in the evangelical songbook during the 2004 Democratic National Convention. “We worship an awesome God in the Blue States,” he said, in the speech that made him a rising star.... Read more

2013-01-30T16:41:29-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:41 pm   By

There was a time just after the Watergate scandal when Billy Graham, stung by his ties to the fallen President Richard Nixon, tried to let his hair down a bit. Graham began addressing a wide range of social issues, including nuclear arms control. He focused less attention to America and said that the church’s future was in the Third World. Some long-time supporters began to grumble — literally — about his hair. “People were worried that Billy was letting his... Read more

2013-01-30T16:41:36-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:41 pm   By

ISTANBUL — When it comes to religion and politics, many skeptics are convinced that strong faith leads to judgmentalism, which leads to intolerance, which leads to oppression and, ultimately, theocracy. Many people disagree, saying that it’s impossible to defend basic human rights without a religious or at philosophical commitment to moral absolutes. It’s easy to tell who is who when they speak out. Consider this voice: “Freedom on the one hand is for the sake of truth and on the... Read more

2013-01-30T16:41:45-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:41 pm   By

When it comes to covering religion news, the mainstream American press is a vast right-wing conspiracy that consistently commits sins of omission against religious liberals. No, wait, honest. Stop laughing. The leaders of a liberal advocacy group called Media Matters for America recently released a study entitled “Left Behind: The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media” that says journalists consistently dedicate more ink to covering conservative leaders than to those on the left side of the spectrum. “Coverage... Read more

2013-01-30T16:41:54-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:41 pm   By

When it comes to who fills the pews, every Sunday is Mother’s Day in most mainstream American churches. And what about Father’s Day? That can be a touchy subject for pastors in an era in which men who religiously avoid church outnumber active churchmen roughly three to one. Worship just doesn’t work for millions of ordinary guys. “What churches are doing isn’t getting the job done. Mom is having to take the kids to church because Dad doesn’t want to... Read more

2013-01-30T16:42:03-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:42 pm   By

For generations, preachers have been asking the same sobering question to provoke people to think about ultimate issues: If you died tonight, do you know where you would spend eternity? The Rev. Rick Kingham has started asking men a different question, knowing that too many of them are living lives defined by solo commutes, office cubicles, fast food, Internet niches, television remotes, eight-foot fences, garage-door openers and gated communities. Here is the question: Do you have any idea who will... Read more

2013-01-30T16:42:13-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:42 pm   By

The atmosphere was tense as the handsome presidential candidate from Massachusetts rose to address an audience packed with Protestant conservatives that he knew had serious doubts about the state of his soul. We’re not talking about Mitt Romney’s recent trip to Virginia Beach to deliver the commencement address at Regent University. For political insiders, the only controversy in that speech was when he said, “I want to offer my sincere thanks to Dr. Pat Robertson for extending me the honor... Read more

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