WASHINGTON (RNS)—A wide range of Christian theologians and leaders have endorsed a document calling for increased efforts to work with Muslims for peace and justice. The move responds to an earlier call from Muslim leaders seeking common ground. The new…
We three kings of Orient are … mostly unknown to Christians
They came. They saw. They gifted. That's about all we know of the foreign visitors who traveled to Bethlehem to see the infant Jesus. The scene ingrained in the public imagination — a stately procession of three kings in turbans,…
Hillary Clinton pays a call on Rick Warren’s conference on HIV/AIDS
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (RNS) — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., reached out to conservative Christians on Nov. 29 at a church-run AIDS conference where the presidential candidate fused her faith with the event's push to combat HIV and AIDS. “It's…
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…
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … a superhero in a burqa?
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Move over, Fantastic Four. There's a new team of superheroes in town. Meet Jabbar the Powerful, a Hulk-like strong man, and Noora the Light, who can create holograms. Darr the Afflicter wields powerful pain waves. One hero,…
New book probes poetry’s power to stir the soul
CHICAGO (RNS) — Poetry is that unusual combination of words with the power to move, delight, nurture and transport readers beyond the here-and-now. It also can nourish our souls, according to the authors of a new book celebrating how poetry…
Church welcomes the ‘Scum of the Earth’
DENVER — The people who worship with Pastor Mike Sares at this rented space are mostly young, many of them students, some clean cut, some a little raggedy. More than a few of the 300 congregants have grappled with depression,…
Israel claims artifacts found date to first Jewish temple
JERUSALEM (RNS) — Israeli archaeologists who have been inspecting maintenance work done by Muslims on the Temple Mount have discovered what they believe are artifacts dating back to the time of the first Jewish temple. Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities…
Falwell’s church continues fast-paced growth
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Thomas Road Baptist Church, the Virginia megachurch founded by the late Jerry Falwell, had the largest numeric growth recorded in a new list of the nation's fastest-growing churches. Outreach magazine reported the church in Lynchburg, Va., saw an increase…
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…