Israelis are split along religious lines when it comes to the ongoing war in Gaza, according to a new study. In fact, the Pew Research Center survey found that Israelis “perceive the war in vastly different ways” — and much of it depends on their religious backgrounds. One of the “starkest divides,” according to Pew, is between Jewish and Arab Israelis as well as observant and secular Jews.
Read More(OPINION) Are you motivated to pray? The word “motivation” doesn’t appear in older dictionaries since it wasn’t coined until the mid-19th century and didn’t come into common use until the 20th century.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi is unlikely to drastically alter Iran’s foreign and domestic policies, but it has left a power vacuum. As stipulated by the constitution, Raisi was replaced by his first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, as interim president before presidential elections are held in 50 days.
Read MoreAfter decades of declining membership, the Boy Scouts of America hopes dropping “Boy” from its name will attract more children to the program. However, some evidence suggests this latest move may be pushing more families to seek alternatives specifically tailored for boys and promoting explicit Christian values.
Read MoreNigeria’s population is well over 200 million. The African country’s median age is 18, but 13.8% of its young men and women are without formal education, employment or any form of job training. This has made unemployment a compelling and dire issue requiring concerted efforts from both state and charities.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This bitter divide resurfaced during the May 11 Benedictine College commencement speech by Harrison Butker, a three-time Super Bowl champion from the nearby Kansas City Chiefs. While remarks about women and family life dominated headlines, most of the placekicker's 20-minute address focused on divisions inside Catholicism.
Read MoreAfter more than four decades, 87-year-old Ed Young has announced he is stepping down as senior pastor of the prominent, multi-site Houston megachurch, Second Baptist Church. Young’s son, Associate Pastor Ben Young, will take on the leadership role.
Read MoreThe Great Supper is the name Christians in Brazil’s northeastern state of Paraiba give to their annual gathering. And this year, the 25th Great Supper brought 120 believers, representing 14 Churches of Christ, to the city of Cajazeiras. They shared more than a meal, said Mike Pruitt, a longtime missionary in Recife, a coastal city about 340 miles east of Cajazeiras.
Read MoreA prominent South African pastor said God will judge the ruling African National Congress for “robbing the poor” and attempting to corrupt the church in a vote-buying scheme that mixed religion with politics. The stern rebuke came after it was reported that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of the ANC had pledged to build 1,000 houses for members of the Shembe Baptist Church.
Read MoreAs India gears up for the largest national elections ever conducted on the planet, the Christian community, although a minority, faces unique challenges that underscore the significance of its political representation. The issues range from persecution to the enforcement of anti-conversion laws, with the recent unrest in Manipur spotlighting the urgent need for their voices to be heard.
Read MoreThirteen leaders from predominantly Black Churches of Christ have signed a formal letter calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The initiative — led by James Michael Crusoe, Edward Keyton and Quintessa Hathaway — began in February during Black History Month after the “Somebody Must Come Preaching” podcast featured the trio on an episode titled “Their struggle is our struggle.”
Read MorePope Francis issued a rare apology on Tuesday after it was revealed that he had used a vulgar term for gay men when asked about the Catholic Church’s ban on homosexual priests entering seminaries. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the comment made by the 87-year-old pontiff.
Read MoreThe largest Catholic Eucharistic pilgrimage in U.S. history launched across the country on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, and will travel through Southern Idaho May 27 through May 31. Across the nation, over 100,000 people are expected to participate in this momentous movement of feet and faith.
Read MoreAs a 15-year-old high school student in Nazareth, Arab Christian Yasmeen Mazzawi wanted to learn the history of the Jews she met volunteering as a paramedic with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical services. Her decision to visit Auschwitz with a team of MDA volunteers challenged her friendships with Muslim and Christian classmates at Nazareth Baptist School, founded by Southern Baptist missionaries in 1935.
Read MorePulling off Vacation Bible School for 700 children is a daunting challenge for most churches. Pulling off VBS for 700 children during community upheaval is not just challenging, it is practically impossible. But Anna Yumnam* and her team from TMG Bible Church* in Manipur, a state in northeast India, managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible in June 2023. This was Yumnam’s first year as the church’s children’s ministry director. She expected hurdles of course, but perhaps not trials of this intensity.
Read More(PHOTO ESSAY) The community walks as part of a procession connected to the Perlon Unggahan traditional ceremony of welcoming the holy month of Ramadan in Banyumas in Central Java. This ritual — carried out to remember and pray for their ancestors — typically includes hundreds of people from different villages who travel to the Bonokeling cemetery complex.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In May 2024, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that nearly 2,000 children in Ukraine were killed or injured amid ongoing and escalating war. The statement made it clear that this tally of children’s deaths is likely to be higher. The report comes shortly after Russia escalated its attacks in the Kharkiv region that killed several children.
Read More(OPINION) What happens with Pentecostalism today affects nearly everybody on Earth, not only spiritually but politically. Scholars and journalists usually point to the landmark 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles as the birth of Pentecostalism. That revival introduced long-dormant gifts of the Holy Spirit written about in the New Testament — including prophecy, healing and speaking in tongues — to contemporary Christianity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) How do U.S. Army chaplains perceive the legitimacy of American drone strikes and why should we care? Though chaplains are entrusted by regulations to shape the moral use of force, scholars have not studied what accounts for their perceptions of legitimacy. Yet legitimacy is “potent” in shaping the durability of policy and strategy.
Read MoreA cross-denominational belief in believer’s baptism allowed Southern Baptist pastor Mark Brown and Pentecostal pastor Mark Francey to collaborate in sponsoring Baptize California, a statewide event that baptized more than 6,000 believers May 18-19.
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