Author: Gordon Govier

PFC Brendan Schweigart, 22, of Andover told his mother he always carried a Bible into battle. Little did he know, it would save his life.Read more of this story.

There comes a time in every mother’s life when she has to make a decision to save herself and her loved ones, even if it means taking a leap of faith. There comes a time for Vacation Bible School.The large signs beckon from every suburban church. Free baby-sitting, they whisper. All week! It is a seductive pitch, directed at frazzled parents desperate to entertain their bored offspring as the summer drags on.Read more of this story.

The CNN documentaries bring a critical look at the Christian right – a label Falwell embraces in the documentary, which features the final interview before his death – into the mainstream. "The fact that it’s coming from CNN is very interesting," says University of Toronto politics professor David Rayside. It may indicate, he says, that the Christian right might be under more scrutiny from the mainstream media than before.Read more of this story

The percentage of clergy who are overweight and therefore at risk for serious health problems is higher than among the general U.S. population, according to reports on clergy health."They’re pretty stressed people who work long hours and often have unhealthy eating habits — think of all those church potlucks," says Robin Swift, director of the Clergy Health Initiative for the Duke Divinity School. "A lot of them feel overwhelmed."Read more of this story.

When the Rev. Edgar Vann looks out the window of his Second Ebenezer Church on East Grand Boulevard, he sees the fruits of his church’s labor: housing, a school, jobs and retail stores.Read more of this story.

If Rip Van Winkle, the fictional heavy sleeper of Washington Irving’s short story, had awakened from his long nap in the 21st Century and entered a Christian bookstore – or his local Barnes & Noble for that matter – what he’d see in the Bible section might disorient him for a minute or two. The range of choices available in Bibles today is astonishing. At bookstores, there are Scriptures for just about every taste and style, in translations ranging from the King James to the New Century Version and beyond. ChristianBook.com, a popular retail Web site, offers more than 3,900…

Groundbreaking actress and Christian performer Naima Lett is determined to give five biblical women their 15 minutes of fame. Eve, Jezebel, Leah, Tamar and Mary, the mother of Jesus, get a fresh look in Shattered Silhouettes, which weaves together the modern issues of love, abuse and hope. Read more of this story.

At a time when the country was bitterly debating the role of religion in public life, we thought Graham’s 50-year courtship of–and courtship by–11 Presidents was a story that needed to be told. Perhaps more than anyone else, he had shaped the contours of American public religion and had seen close up how the Oval Office affects people.Read more of this story.

Two in three Americans (67%) say they consider the United States to be a Christian nation — down just slightly from 71% in March 2006 but up significantly from the percentage who said so a decade ago. In 1996, 60% of Americans tied the nation’s identity to Christianity; by 2002, the figure had climbed to 67%, and since then views on this question have remained fairly consistent.Read more of this story.

Chicago – In a groundbreaking decision, members at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s national assembly passed a resolution Saturday urging church authorities to refrain from, or to use restraint in, disciplining homosexual pastors in committed, same-sex relationships.Read more of this story.Tom Heinen’s earlier report on the ELCA convention.