2013-01-30T16:51:44-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:51 pm   By

In the beginning, Judaism was a faith built on sacred sex. At least, that’s what Dan Brown told 60 million readers in “The Da Vinci Code,” speaking though a fictional Harvard University scholar named Robert Langdon. And while the characters are fiction, the novelist continues to affirm the statement that opens his book: “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” One of those “secret rituals” is an eye-opener. “Langdon’s Jewish students always looked... Read more

2013-01-30T16:51:56-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:51 pm   By

During his decades as a New York Times correspondent, the late A.M. Rosenthal saw lots of dead bodies in Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Kashmir, India and other troubled lands. One day in Calcutta he started asking questions: What if some of these people are dying, but not yet dead? Was he supposed to help them? These questions stayed with him when he returned home to become an editor. “I devoted a great deal of my time and thinking to wondering: When... Read more

2013-01-30T16:52:08-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:52 pm   By

There was no way to film “The Lord of the Rings” without dealing with the author and producer Peter Jackson knew it. Who was J.R.R. Tolkien? Luckily, the Oxford don left behind letters and essays about his Catholic faith and its impact on his heart, mind and soul. “What we tried to do was honor the things that were important to Tolkien,” said Jackson, after screening “The Two Towers” for the press. “We didn’t want to make it a religious... Read more

2013-01-30T16:52:19-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:52 pm   By

Lucy E. Carroll has never actually attended a Catholic Mass in which a cantor belted out, “He’ll be coming ’round the altar when he comes! He’ll be coming ’round the altar when he comes!” At least, that hasn’t happened yet. “I know that some people have used Stephen Foster music in a Mass,” said the musical director at the Carmelite monastery in Philadelphia. “I’ve heard about people using the melody from the waltz scene in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ for... Read more

2013-01-30T16:52:33-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:52 pm   By

It remains Salman Rushdie’s fervent conviction that it’s wrong for clergy, jurists or politicos to threaten writers’ lives simply because they think their books are terrible. Not even the shocking success of “The Da Vinci Code” has weakened his pro-novelist stance, he said, drawing laughter at Calvin College’s recent Festival of Faith and Writing in Grand Rapids, Mich. This faith in free speech isn’t surprising since the apostate Muslim has lived in hiding ever since his 1988 novel “The Satanic... Read more

2013-01-30T16:52:44-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:52 pm   By

It’s hard to hold a proper Southern Baptist dinner on the grounds without someone bringing a lemon pound cake. The recipe John David Finley grew up with was as down to earth as cooking can get, with one cup of butter, four eggs, the grated peel of half a lemon and the right amounts of flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. But somewhere between the lines is the joy of his paternal grandmother, Lula Mae Finley. And those... Read more

2013-01-30T16:52:57-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:52 pm   By

The Vatican is known its complex rituals, rich in ancient symbols and mysterious details. Take, for example, the funeral of Pope John Paul II, as described by the International Herald Tribune. “The 84-year-old John Paul was laid out in Clementine Hall, dressed in white and red vestments, his head covered with a white bishop’s miter and propped up on three dark gold pillows,” wrote Ian Fisher of the New York Times. “Tucked under his left arm was the silver staff,... Read more

2013-01-30T16:53:06-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:53 pm   By

It’s hard to laugh about religion in Northern Ireland, but Oxford theologian Alister McGrath likes to tell the following joke that hints at the challenges he faced as a young skeptic in that troubled land. While visiting Belfast, an Englishman was cornered by three thugs. The leader asked one question: “Are you a Protestant or are you a Catholic?” After a diplomatic pause, the Englishman said: “I am an atheist.” Confused, his attacker asked: “Are you a Protestant atheist or... Read more

2013-01-30T16:53:19-05:00

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:53 pm   By

Ask most people what God looks like and they’ll immediately start thinking about Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel and an old man with a white beard sitting on a cloud. Eric Metaxas thinks that anyone who truly wants to understand the righteous and jealous God of the Bible should try meditating on a different image. Metaxas is thinking about Motown, rather than Vatican City. “I admit that the Bible does not specifically mention Aretha Franklin,” said Metaxas, a humor writer and... Read more

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

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 4:53 pm   By

NEW YORK — The New York Times has for generations printed its credo on Page 1 to inspire the faithful: “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” But times changed and the high church of journalism was challenged by radio and television news, which was followed by a tsunami of news, rumors, opinions and criticism on 24-7 cable news networks and the Internet. The result has been a subtle change in doctrine at the Times, although the Gray Lady’s motto... Read more

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