There is something decidedly public about Ash Wednesday. Walking around all day with a gash of grey ash across one’s forehead — this is among the most visible Christian things I do each year. This is a rare day when I cannot and could not hide my Christian commitments and my Christian aspirations, even if [...]

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Ooberfuse, an experimental music project based in the United Kingdom has written and will release a song, Blood Cries Out, to honor the memory of those who lose their lives in defense of the marginalized and oppressed. They are slated to perform the song at a protest march and concert in London on March 10 [...]

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Jesus. America. Apple pie. Guns. Whoever the Republican candidate is at the moment. Based on the prevailing stereotype of the prototypical American Christian, it seems as if you don’t love all of the above, you haven’t any hope of getting into heaven. But shouldn’t American Christians be above that? Isn’t the call of Christ and [...]

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The atmosphere is like a pop concert: in a darkened theater in the lively Montparnasse area of Paris, hundreds of young people sing catchy songs and wave their arms in the air, while a group plays booming music on stage. But this isn’t a pop gig. Welcome to Hillsong Church. The Australian-born Pentecostal church set [...]

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Everybody has a favorite Whitney Houston song, a memory that makes them stand still and think about how this soulful pop superstar made them feel when they heard her sing. Remember the chill when she sang the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, or how “I’m Every Woman” empowered women, providing confidence and inspiration? [...]

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Facing growing backlash from religious groups over the administration’s birth control insurance plan, President Obama on Friday will unveil a new arrangement whereby insurers at religiously affiliated institutions — such as Catholic hospitals and universities — will not have to provide contraception coverage. The new approach effectively removes faith-based organizations from any involvement in providing [...]

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The White House has surprised observers and disappointed some liberal allies by signaling that it is willing to compromise and provide a broader religious exemption in its controversial regulations requiring all employers to provide free contraception coverage. Given that birth control use is almost universal – even among Catholics – many wonder why the Obama [...]

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The Vatican’s doctrinal chief on Monday (Feb. 6) told Catholic bishops from all over the world that they have a duty to “cooperate” with civil law on cases of clergy sexual abuse of minors. Cardinal William J. Levada, a former archbishop of San Francisco who now heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [...]

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After months of urging from other Baptists around the country, the Rev. Fred Luter told his African-American congregation that he will seek to become the first black man to lead the predominantly white Southern Baptist Convention. Several Baptist leaders said Luter becomes the prohibitive favorite for the post, to be filled in a potentially historic [...]

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President Obama connected his faith with his policies toward the poor at the National Prayer Breakfast today, a subtle but sharp contrast to remarks made by presidential hopeful Mitt Romney the day before. “Living by the principle that we are our brother’s keeper. Caring for the poor and those in need,” Obama said before an [...]

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