DALLAS (RNS)—Chris Wyatt and the Internet have something going. In the late '90s, the young television producer helped start Communities.com, the world's first social networking website. The site exploded into the Internet's largest pre-MySpace network. Now, less than a decade…
Does ‘Compass’ point kids in the wrong direction?
NEW YORK (RNS)—The holiday season means it's time for another Hollywood wintry blockbuster with a cast of talking animals, witches and an earnest child to point the way to truth and justice. But some Christians who applauded the Christian allegory…
Groups say hunger stats, food prices up
WASHINGTON (RNS)—While millions of Americans stock their kitchens for holiday feasts, many groups are concerned about people who will go hungry during the festive season—and in the weeks and months to come. Inflation has made food more expensive, making it…
Spare some change?
WASHINGTON — Every day, Lawaune Stockton stands with her cup in front of a downtown McDonald's, jingling the change inside as customers come and go. She cinches the strings on the hood of her sweatshirt to keep out the damp…
Practical tips on helping the homeless
Steve Burger, former executive director of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, urges Americans not to give money to the homeless on the streets. “If you give a dollar to a panhandler, often you are really funding the local tavern…
Jezebel: Did the Bible’s bad girl get a bad rap?
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Few historical characters rival Jezebel for negative stereotypes. Today, “she's a household word for badness,” one scholar said. Culturally, she's portrayed as a brash, sexually provocative woman wearing too much make-up, another observed. So in her new…
Americans don’t want religious pitches from presidential candidates, poll says
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Even though thousands of evangelicals flocked to Washington for the recent Values Voter Summit, more than two-thirds of Americans think presidential candidates should not use their religious beliefs to sway voters, a new poll shows. The poll, conducted by…
Scholars say evangelicals and their votes are shifting
WASHINGTON (RNS)—The face of evangelicalism is changing, two authors at the Pew Research Center said, and with that change comes uncertainty about who evangelicals will vote for in next year's presidential election. Using the AIDS crisis as an example, Michael…
Southerners give more to religious organizations
WASHINGTON (RNS)—The numbers prove it: Southerners are more generous to their churches, while lagging in other categories of giving. Using data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a new study by empty tomb inc. shows that in 2005,…