What is frightening about the recent mass killings in San Bernardino, Calif., is how easily seemingly ordinary individuals can wreak havoc on the lives of so many innocent people. Our vulnerability to mass murder has been revealed many times in…
The No. 1 reason teens keep the faith as young adults
The holy grail for helping youth remain religiously active as young adults has been at home all along: parents. Mothers and fathers who practice what they preach and preach what they practice are far and away the major influence related…
Leading the black church: Can it be a woman’s place?
CLEVELAND (RNS) — Imelda Ellison sits quietly in her pew as, one by one, dressed all in white, the members of the Emmanuel Women of Worship come down the center aisle. Their heads held high, 15 women step and sway,…
Churches breaking sacred silence in a hookup culture
CLEVELAND (RNS)—Some of Antonio James' classmates laugh when they learn the 15-year-old has pledged not to have sex until he marries. It's not just male bravado that puts pressure on the 6-foot-1, 219-pound football player to be sexually active. “There's…
Shared meals at church take on a different flavor to meet changing needs
AKRON, Ohio (RNS) — Andrew Hamilton still can taste the homemade apple, cherry and peach pies that capped off the covered-dish church meals of his youth in Lakeville, Mass. In those days, children played on their own for hours while…
Kinder, gentler Moses pictured in new Ten Commandments movie
HOLLYWOOD (RNS) — The image of Charlton Heston as Moses has been carved into the minds of generations. Few who have seen the Cecil B. DeMille blockbuster can forget Heston's majestic, commanding presence as he comes down from Mount Sinai…
The Ten Commandments–1956 vs. 2007
HOLLYWOOD (RNS)—Consider the differences between (A) the 1956 movie by Cecil B. DeMille and (B) a new animated version of The Ten Commandments. Moses A. Charlton Heston B. Voice of Christian Slater Voice of God A. No on-screen credit (Heston…