Anyone who grew up in a parsonage knows that “PK” stands for “preacher’s kid.” Very early on, I rebelled against that label. But I wasn’t rejecting my father, my family or the faith. When people called me a “preacher’s kid,” I bluntly told them my father wasn’t a preacher – he was a pastor. There’s a difference. My father turned 81 this week and I thought this would be a good time to say that I’m still proud of his... Read more

After the “Contact” sneak preview, viewers in the sold-out theater outside Kansas City were asked to complete the usual survey probing their reactions. It was Saturday night at the mall and the Hollywood dream machine needed to know how this $90 million “event movie for intellectuals” was going to play in Middle America. Was it “entertaining,” “exciting,” “too slow,” “thought provoking,” “fun to watch,” “meaningful,” “emotional” and “believable”? Were the special effects good enough? Did it have enough action? Did... Read more

It’s a long way from Archbishop Moses Tay’s Singapore cathedral to the Philadelphia Convention Center and the Episcopal Church’s latest debates about sin, sacraments and sex. The soft-spoken Asian primate isn’t planning to make the trip. Nevertheless, his voice is being heard at the 72nd General Convention of Anglicanism’s bitterly divided American flock, which ends July 25. Many Episcopalians want to know: What did Tay say and when did he say it? The archbishop has declined, via fax, to confirm... Read more

In the beginning, Communist leaders tried to crush all belief in a power higher than the state. That didn’t work, so these regimes changed strategies. While brute force remains an option, the goal today is to let religious groups live and even grow – in tiny plots groomed by atheistic gardeners. The bottom line: Martyrs are more dangerous than apostates. If there is anything that people understand in Hong Kong, it is the bottom line. Thus, it’s highly unlikely that... Read more

HONG KONG – This weekend, thousands of Lutherans will arrive for their World Federation’s ninth General Assembly, flowing into this city’s new convention center in the wake of what seemed like most of the world’s diplomats and news crews. Commentators will hail the gathering as another sign that life is continuing as usual with red Chinese flags flying overhead. The reality is more complicated than that. The decision to hold this Lutheran assembly in Hong Kong was made five years... Read more

HONG KONG – Almost every month, Bassanio Hung returns to the land that his parents fled, searching for small pieces of the massive puzzle that is China. The group that he represents – East Gates Ministries, International – tries not to make headlines. Hung smiles and bows and plays by the rules. He knows that life isn’t easy for Chinese Christians, but he tries to be positive. That’s the plan and he is going to stick to it. “We are... Read more

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – They’re out there, perched on family-room couches, trigger fingers poised to punch the “mute” buttons on their TV remotes. They have TV listings nearby, marked with highlighter-pen slashes indicating the few shows that have been deemed worthy. They can program their VCRs while blindfolded and quote chapter and verse from media reviews in various sacred and secular publications. They are the few, the proud, the parents who try to monitor what their children watch on television.... Read more

Marvin Olasky is a biased journalist. World magazine’s editor freely admits that he often asks his reporters to ditch traditional journalistic standards of fairness and objectivity. Instead, he says journalists should write the stories that God wants them to write, the way God wants them written. The goal is “true objectivity” or “the God’s-eye view.” “Biblically, there is no neutrality. … Christian reporters should give equal space to a variety of perspectives only when the Bible is unclear,” argues Olasky,... Read more

In the Gospel of John, a high priest makes a stark pronouncement about Jesus that sets the stage for Holy Week. In the New International Version translation, Caiaphas tells the Pharisees: “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” But in the NIV Inclusive Language Edition the words “that one man die” have been translated “that one person die.” For millions of readers, this change... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — James Kelley doesn’t believe in God – Father, Son or Holy Spirit. Kelley doesn’t believe in the virgin birth, the resurrection or any of the miracles the Bible says happened in between. Kelley doesn’t believe in heaven or hell. He isn’t a Christian. He isn’t even a theist. But Kelley is an Episcopalian and proud of it and he thinks that more skeptics should sign up – just as they are. “I pay my pledge. I’ve taught... Read more