Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s GOP convention blessing prompts debate
(RNS) The news that New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the nation’s most prominent Catholic prelate, will deliver the closing blessing to the Republican National Convention in Florida next week was seen as a huge coup for Mitt …
read more‘Let It Be Unto Me’: Akin, Rape, and the Early Church
A Q&A with historians of the early church.
Dr. Burrus, your work explores the ways in which ancient understandings of gender have a lot to do with the architecture of classical Christian theology—even in areas that most people wouldn’t immediately suppose. Akin is a member …
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Why Women Believe in God
We ask an important question, whether God is necessary, and answer it with reference to scriptures, politics, feminism, secularisation and the serious financial and environmental issues which now confront us and which can no longer be ignored.
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The Nicene Creed: Ancient Words in the Light of Modern Faith
The Nicene Creed was both a religious and a political tool, a humanly constructed statement of belief that gave order and meaning to the world of its time. The question this book raises is whether it still gives order and meaning to our world–or rather, what kind of order and meaning does it give to our world.
read moreMormon women seeking middle ground to greater equality
Feminism » Ordination may be a long shot, but activists see a middle ground to greater visibility and involvement in their faith.
For some Mormon feminists, there can be only one goal on the road to gender equality: priesthood ordination. After all, every worthy male in the lay-clergy-run Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — starting at age …
read moreDo the American nuns have a future?
…studies show that despite conservative claims, traditional orders are not doing that much better than the liberal communities. In 1992 the Vatican set up a rival organization to the LCWR, called the Council of Major Superiors of …
read moreVatican showdown the latest chapter in Sister Pat Farrell’s dramatic life
(RNS) Though she is at the center of one of the biggest crises in the Catholic Church today, Sister Pat Farrell is loath to talk about herself, and certainly not in any way that would make her …
read moreChick-fil-A’s gay marriage stance causing a social storm
The fact that Chick-fil-A is a company that espouses Christian values is no secret. The fact that its 1,600 fast-food chicken restaurants across the country are closed on Sundays has long been testament to that. But the …
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Thank You Ross Douthat; A Discussion on Liberal Christianity
Well at least we can all agree that Ross Douthat got our attention with the article he wrote recently for the New York Times. His dire attack on the so called liberal churches has already stimulated several well written articles, with a plethora of responses to each of these.
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Can Christianity Be Saved? A Response to Ross Douthat
Many of the criticisms were mean-spirited or partisan, continuing a decade-long internal debate about the Episcopal Church’s future. However, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat broadened the discussion, moving beyond inside-baseball ecclesial politics to ask a larger question: “Can Liberal Christianity be Saved?”
read moreBill Gates, Microsoft Founder, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, Each Donate $100,000 For Marriage Equality
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer are coughing up a bit of cash for marriage equality. According to the Associated Press, Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and Ballmer, the company’s CEO, have each written $100,000 checks to Washington United for Marriage, …
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What Is Progressive Christianity?
Fred Plumer, President of ProgressiveChristianity.org, answers the question “What is progressive Christianity?”
read moreVatican says disgraced Legion of Christ needs a new identity
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The disgraced Legion of Christ religious order needs to rethink its identity before going forward with its internal reform, the papal envoy in charge of the group’s overhaul told priests and lay members in …
read moreDo atheists have a sexual harassment problem?
(RNS) As skeptics, atheists and humanists prepare to gather for their largest meeting in Las Vegas this weekend, attendance by women is expected to be down significantly. Officials for The Amazing Meeting, or TAM, said Wednesday (July 11) …
read moreMajority of South Carolina deputies walk out to protest convention actions
[Episcopal News Service – Indianapolis] The majority of the Diocese of South Carolina’s deputies left the General Convention July 11 because, in the words of its remaining clergy deputy, the gathering has passed resolutions that violate the doctrine, …
read moreRift Forms in Movement as Belief in Gay ‘Cure’ Is Renounced
For more than three decades, Exodus International has been the leading force in the so-called ex-gay movement, which holds that homosexuals can be “cured” through Christian prayer and psychotherapy. Exodus leaders claimed its network of ministries had helped tens …
read moreEpiscopal Church Approves Transgender People Ordination
The Episcopal Church on Monday overwhelmingly voted to allow the ordination of transgender people. At its triennial General Convention in Indianapolis, the church House of Deputies approved a change to the “nondiscrimination canons” to include “gender identity …
read moreRowan Williams urges speedy solution to row over women bishops
Archbishop of Canterbury warns part of General Synod issue will be shelved until 2015 if legislation is not passed in initial vote
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Church of England needs to proceed “as speedily as we can” to resolve the dispute over women bishops, warning part of the General Synod that if the legislation is not …
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