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Science and Faith : Complementary or Contradictory?
VIDEO: Reverend James Forbes is asked about “The Bible’s Buried Secrets” by Lisa Miller, the Religion Editor of Newsweek magazine. This clip took place on 11/13 in NYC at the event “Science and Faith : Complementary or Contradictory?” Reverend James Forbes is the Senior Minister Emeritus of The Riverside Church, President of the Healing of
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A Post-Evangelical America
Just as “race” has a whole new meaning in America this week, so, too, does “faith.” For at least four decades, white evangelicals have been the religion-and-politics story in this country. Their power, their rhetoric, their numbers, their theology
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✴︎ Newsweek
The Silent Issue
It’s abortion, stupid. For conservative Christians in this election the most important religious issue isn’t gay marriage, stem-cell research or Christmas trees on courthouse lawns. It is abortion (as it has been for at least the past 35 years, since the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade). When they walk into the voting booth
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✴︎ Newsweek
Jesus and Witches
The video clip is from 2005, and Sarah Palin, who is running for governor, stands on the dais of a small church; three pastors surround her in a huddle. They are touching her shoulders, her forehead, her back. The would-be governor is stone still, eyes cast down, palms up toward heaven. The man on her
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Click In Remembrance Of Me
With a scrap of bagel and a sip of Crystal Light, Beth McDonald gave communion to her husband. Then, after a blessing, he gave communion to her. Music played as the celebrant intoned the ancient words, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The experience was among the most spiritually powerful of her life. “I had
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✴︎ Newsweek
Forgive Me, Pepsi, For I Have Sinned
Why do you choose Coke over Pepsi, Corona over Bud, Crest over Colgate? You don’t think much about these choices, you say; your gut decides. Marketing guru Martin Lindstrom says otherwise. Your preference for Macs over PCs is embedded in your brain circuitry. In “Buyology,” he shares the results of a three-year, $7 million study,
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What’s God Got to Do With It?
In her new book, “Love Your Life,” Victoria Osteen tells the following story. When she and her husband, Joel, were courting, he came over to her house for dinner. She knew he was the son of a prominent Houston pastor and she, a nice Christian girl, was hoping they could talk about Scripture while she
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Obama’s Other Pastor
In the early summer of 2000, the Houston megachurch pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell got a phone call that would change his life. The George W. Bush campaign was on the line, wanting to know if Caldwell would introduce his friend the governor of Texas at the Republican National Convention. “I was shocked. I did not expect
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A Battle Over Billy Graham
The Evangelist Billy Graham turns 90 next month, and in this final chapter of his life, a number of laudatory books and movies are scheduled for release. One of these, a biopic called “Billy: The Early Years,” arrives in theaters this week, and if the present family skirmish triggered by the movie is any sign
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Arguing Against the Atheists
Sometimes I argue in my mind against the new generation of professional atheists, and the arguments go something like this. First, if 90-odd percent of Americans say they believe in God, it’s unhelpful to dismiss them as silly. Second, when they check that “believe in God” box, a great many people are not talking about