NEW YORK (RNS) — Studios and filmmakers are rediscovering a classic text as source material for upcoming mainstream films: the Bible. Nearly 10 years after the blockbuster success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which earned $611.9 million…
Do BYU visits signal evangelical-Mormon truce?
(RNS) — Last month, after being sure to get his caffeine fix at Starbucks, Southern Baptist leader Richard Land went where few evangelicals had dared to go before: the campus of Brigham Young University, the intellectual heart of Mormonism. After…
Lewis’s legacy shines in U.S., but not his homeland
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — When C.S. Lewis died on Nov. 22, 1963, hardly a soul blinked in Northern Ireland where he was born or in England where he spent most of his working life as one of the world’s greatest…
Tax-exempt status for churches: What’s the context?
Because of a senator’s action in 1954, churches have been included with certain other tax-exempt organizations restricted from electioneering — publicly endorsing or working against candidates for political office. The prohibition against political campaign intervention by nonprofits that qualify under…
Saint G.K. Chesterton?
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — Christians and Jews are mounting campaigns for and against a path to sainthood for British writer G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), one of the world’s best-known Catholic converts. Roman Catholic Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton, where Chesterton lived…
Author Malcolm Gladwell describes return to faith
(RNS) — Author Malcolm Gladwell may not be known for writing on religion. His New York Times best-selling books The Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink and What the Dog Saw deal with the unexpected twists in social science research. But his…
Church budgets as moral statements
It may not feel like it to number-crunchers huddled around a Sunday school classroom table, fine-tuning annual financial proposals for an upcoming church business meeting. But church budgets are moral statements that reflect ethical priorities — and may be key…
Beyond the birds and the bees
Christian ethicist David Gushee understands why many church leaders shy away from open discussions about sexuality. Pastors fear offending members. Diversity of age, values and life experiences among members make consensus difficult. “I would fault churches for their silence on…
Growing trend: Ministers saddled with seminary debt
When Congress overwhelmingly approved a measure last month to relieve spiraling student debt, churches probably didn’t realize the problem hits closer to home than expected — many pastors are leaving seminary and divinity school with tens of thousands of dollars…