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Money can’t buy love; it can’t buy true friendship. In fact, all the best things in life, at MasterCard says, are priceless. It turns out however, all this conventional wisdom is wrong. New research, as reported in the Boston Globe, actually does buy happiness, if its correctly spent. “For deep-seated psychological reasons, when it comes to spending money, we tend to value goods over experiences, ourselves over others, things over people. When it comes to happiness, none of these decisions are right.” Read more about "How Money Makes Us Happy" blog.christianitytoday.com >>
Here’s a story from CBN News about Ted Kennedy. Watch Ted Kennedy Talk About His Catholic Faith (blogs.cbn.com) No matter what you think of Ted Kennedy or the Kennedy clan or their liberal philosophy, one thing you can’t argue about is the fact that Ted Kennedy was one of the most influential Senators of all times. Let’s face it. Ted Kennedy has a long list of legislative victories. Read the list here (PDF). "In short, I hope for an America where neither "fundamentalist" nor "humanist" will be a dirty word, but a fair description of the different ways in which…
For several years, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series topped the American Library Association’s lists of the most-challenged books (reasons cited in 2001: “anti-family, occult/Satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence”). Evangelical Protestants were skeptical: would the positive depiction of wizardry mislead children? And some Catholics were worried too, ranging from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), who warned that “subtle seductions” in the text could “corrupt the Christian faith,” to the Rev. Ronald A. Barker, a Wakefield priest who yanked the books from his parish school library.But over the last several years, religion writers and thinkers have warmed to Harry.Read more…
(UNDATED) Even though he was always taught that religion and politics shouldn’t be discussed in polite company, Dan Merchant decided someone needed to start the conversation. In his documentary-style film, “Lord, Save Us from Your Followers,” which hits theaters nationwide on Sept. 25, Merchant marches around the country asking everyone he meets why what he calls the “Gospel of Love” is dividing the nation. Read more of this story.
COMMENTARYAt first glance the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago’s downtown Grant Park is a perfect expression of the American penchant for personal preference. Walking through the festival entrance on a recent overcast Friday, my friend Bob and I were instantly faced with serious decisions. Festival goers studied their detailed, minute-by-minute agendas of which of the 130 bands they planned to see on the eight different stages. The Decemberists or Thievery Corporation at 6:00pm? The Killers or Jane’s Addiction at 8:00pm?Agonizing decisions, and because I’m a pastor they reminded me of the choices people must make when looking for a church.…
Christians are free to cry aloud to the Lord. But when 7-month-old Tori Nowlin entered Community Presbyterian Church one Sunday morning, she was hustled by her mom straight to a soundproof room with a window on the sanctuary.Wailing infants and talkative toddlers are regulars in the church’s “crying room,” a child-friendly space that lets families attend church without distracting other members.Read more of this story.
If the Internets has taught us anything, it’s that, in the near future, no one will be able to read ink on a page. Newspapers will be delivered to inboxes, not mailboxes; books will be read on Kindles, not leaves; and the silver screen will satiate our need for stories. Only one group can stop print from fading into obsolescence, just one hardy band of traditionalists stand between us and this paper apocalypse … the Amish. That’s right, folks. Read more of this story.
On Wednesday, August 19, 2009, the chief legislative authority of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a new social statement on human sexuality with exactly the number of votes needed to pass it.Read more of this story. Lutheran convention almost struck by tornado – Julia DuinWas God in the Whirlwind? – Christianity TodayAUGUST 22 – FURTHER DEVELOPMENTSLutherans Lift Barriers For Gay Clergy – Los Angeles Times Conservatives React After Lutherans Lift Ban – Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—Congress may be on summer recess, but Americans who are motivated by their faith are joining the conversation over changing the way that health care is paid for in the United States. The Huntsville Chapter of Health Care for Everyone-Alabama, for example, includes many who are motivated by their faith to support ways that Americans can work together to make sure that everyone has access to affordable health care. Read more of this story. Obama Turns to Religious Community on Health-Care Reform – Washington PostThe ProLife Response to the President’s Call – David Brody, CBNBaptist Analysis says House Health…
It is relatively rare to find blatant, broad examples of discrimination on the basis of institutional accreditation.Rare — but not unheard of. And one is unfolding right now in Wisconsin, where state officials have (so far) decided not to let students at Northland International University receive grants designed to help Wisconsin residents afford public and private nonprofit colleges.Read more of this story.