(OPINION) In his third text on the meaning of Lent, Michael Metzger connects the church as the bride of Christ to his encounter with the Samaritan woman.
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(OPINION) Women make up the majority of Christians today. One of the most common refrains about the church in Africa is that it is majority female. But more precise data about African women’s contributions and religious identities is lacking.
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(OPINION) Years after Martin Luther King Jr., Southern Baptists are still divided based on skin color within the church. The Rev. Fred Luter says, "This is spiritual warfare of the enemy. ... As blood-washed, born-again, baptized believers in Jesus Christ, (we must) come together, realizing that the separation we have because of our skin color is an attack of the enemy."
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(OPINION) St. Peter’s crashed out of the NCAA Tournament following a defeat to No. 8 North Carolina — but they will forever be remembered as one of the greatest Cinderella teams at the men’s basketball tournament. The Catholic school had made history on Friday, downing Purdue to become the first No. 15 seed in tournament history to advance to the Elite 8.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in comes to you from Bethesda, Maryland, site of the Religion News Association’s 2022 annual meeting. As always, Plug-in highlights the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(OPINION) For weeks, a shocked world has been transfixed by Russia’s murderous invasion of Ukraine. Yet, at the same time in another part of the world, brutal violence against similar innocents has not only continued for years but has dramatically increased in the past few months.
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(OPINION) A hero to the right and bogeyman to the left, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis has received plenty of mainstream news coverage because of his use of so-called culture war issues to push legislation. But while the Catholicism of President Joe Biden is lauded in some media circles and debated in others, DeSantis’ faith is hardly mentioned.
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(OPINION) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has potential to be "the most transformational" European conflict since World War II. Will it be transformational for Christianity?
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(OPINION) Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has defended Russia’s actions and blamed the conflict on the West.
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(OPINION) Is the church the bride of Christ? What does this mean? Michael Metzger makes a connection between the Gettysburg Address and the salvation meaning of Jesus' birth.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in explains why news of sexual harassment inside Christianity Today magazine was so shocking. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(OPINION) Once upon a time, Southern Baptists in Bible Belt communities knew how to talk to people who didn’t go to church. Things changed as the greater Greenville-Spartanburg are welcomed waves of high-tech firms and industries with global brands such as BMW, Bosch and many others. Today’s newcomers speak German or Japanese.
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(OPINION) In this, the 50th anniversary year of the 12.9 million-member United Methodist Church’s fierce debate over the Bible and sexuality, a late summer General Conference was set to settle how to split. But a March 3 bombshell announcement canceled this all-important meeting, already postponed twice due to COVID-19.
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(OPINION) The latest bid to shape public perceptions of the concept of Christian nationalism is a 63-page “Report on Christian Nationalism and the January 6 Insurrection,” issued last month by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
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(OPINION) Ukraine has one of the five largest Jewish communities in Europe. Prior to the start of the current civilian refugee exodus, Ukrainian Jews numbered an estimated 100,000-200,000 individuals, down from nearly a half-million in 1989.
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(OPINION) Orthodox leaders with ties to the European Union and highly European Western Ukraine have issued fierce statements after the Russian invasion. Many Orthodox churches with roots in Russian Orthodoxy have also condemned the invasion of Ukraine and urged a ceasefire.
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(OPINION) As U.S. Protestant evangelicalism copes with internal divisions and problematic status in the broader society, along with the usual brickbats from the left, nonpartisan journalists and evangelical strategists alike should carefully monitor the thinking of knowledgeable insiders who are not wedded to customary loyalties and assumptions.
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(OPINION) Some recent careful articles have tried to analyze and illuminate the divisions of American evangelicals, but they are often one-sided, which means that they may simply exacerbate the very tensions they lament.
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(OPINION) How do you look at the cross of Christ? Metzger reflects here on the meaning of Lent in the Christian faith and the importance of this period of repentance and preparation in recognition of the divine sacrifice.
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(OPINION) Along with assorted financial and moral scandals, Warren Cole Smith of MinistryWatch.com has been examining what he calls the “Bible translation industry.” This is a very popular cause among U.S. Protestants, with revenues of around $500 million a year. The biggest group, Wycliffe Bible Translators, took in $227 million in 2020.
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