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Traversing the country this week on a tour of places that have shaped his life and informed his values, John McCain spoke in strikingly personal language to introduce himself to the American public. But missing so far is any significant mention of religious faith. Read more of this story.
COMMENTARYBasketball. It’s on everyone’s mind right now. Whether you like to play it, watch it, or just endlessly fill in and refill in brackets; basketball is the sport of the moment.It’s also my favorite sport…I’ve played since I was old enough (and far enough away from the ground) to start dribbling. I can still hear my dad: “Take the ball with you to the post office and dribble the whole way. You’ll never get better if you don’t practice, practice, practice…and don’t just use your right hand either!” So I would put my right hand behind my back and make…
THE scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real. Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man “closer to God”.Read more >>
“Explaining Religion”, as the project is known, is the largest-ever scientific study of the subject. It began last September, will run for three years, and involves scholars from 14 universities and a range of disciplines from psychology to economics. And it is merely the latest manifestation of a growing tendency for science to poke its nose into the God business.Read more of this story.
A staggering economy pushed a capital campaign for a new cathedral for the Madison Diocese back by at least a year, the diocese said in a statement Friday.Read more of this story.
The Psalms, says theologian Eugene H. Peterson, are God’s gift to those who want to learn how to pray."If we wish to develop our entire heart, mind, soul and strength, the Psalms are necessary," the author of the bestselling "Message Bible" writes in "Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer." "We cannot bypass the Psalms."Read more of this story.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–God does not reward those who earnestly seek rewards, He rewards those who earnestly seek Him, author John Revell writes in a new book titled "Getting the Most from God (but not how you might think!)," which uses Scripture to debunk the prosperity gospel often preached by popular televangelists.Read more of this story.
When Amelia graduated last December, she told her father she was thinking of going to L’Abri, the Christian study center and commune in the Swiss Alps founded by celebrity apologist Francis Schaeffer. "When I brought up the idea, Dad said, ‘That’s great, I love Schaeffer,’" she said.If her father remembers L’Abri as it was when Schaeffer was alive—a place where thoughtful young Christians went to breathe the fortifying Alpine air and to sit at the feet of their goateed guru—Amelia embodies what L’Abri has become: a community ambivalent about Schaeffer’s legacy and ill at ease with mainstream evangelical culture. Read…
Christianity has long been stereotyped as a Western, white man’s religion, but a prominent theologian stated Thursday that that image will soon drastically change.Read more of this story.
WASHINGTON (BP)–Does living together before marriage increase the chances for a successful marriage? The answer may surprise some.Between 50 and 60 percent of all marriages begin with the two partners cohabitating, and many of those couples no doubt believe they are making a wise move up front. But living together before marriage actually increases the chances of divorce in a first marriage — 67 percent of cohabitating couples who marry eventually divorce, compared to 45 percent of all first marriages.Read more of this story. More on this subject:Evangelicals less likely to divorce, Barna survey says