Spend a year — as I have just done — writing about a variety of religious beliefs and events for a major metropolitan newspaper, and one can be both inspired and depressed. Published January 23, 2014
The 2006 funeral of Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, and a Kabbalist who studied and taught Jewish mysticism, drew a crowd estimated at 200,000 by Britain's Guardian newspaper. Eight years after his death, Kaduri's life and, especially, a "last teaching" contained in a note allegedly sealed until a year after his death, are stirring some interest in decidedly non-Jewish quarters. Published January 16, 2014
Three weeks ago in this space, you read about the difficulties with which Christians contend in nations around the world. This week, an international ministry that has long supported the persecuted church has released a "watch list" documenting even more issues. Published January 9, 2014
Mitch Horowitz is right: the notion that changing one's thoughts can change one's life really is "One Simple Idea," and his engaging history of positive thinking in America, to be published next Tuesday is, in fact, a tour de force recap of what is a bedrock philosophy, also known as "New Thought" or even "New Age" in some circles. Published January 2, 2014
No doubt about it — the man born Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the religious figure of 2013. Time magazine confirmed this by naming the Argentine cardinal now known as Pope Francis as Person of the Year, and a survey of Religion Newswriters Association members this month designated his election as the top religion story of the year. Published December 26, 2013
Christmas is different things to different people it seems, and that's no surprise. For most, if recent surveys are correct, it's just a wonderful time to reconnect with family and friends, exchange presents, and, perhaps, consume too many calories. This week, the District-based Public Religion Research Institute reported "more than one-quarter (26 percent) of Americans celebrating Christmas this year will do so largely as a non-religious holiday." Published December 19, 2013
New York City is known for many things, but a hotbed of religious activity might not be the first thing people think of in the "city that never sleeps." Nevertheless, that's where the Rev. David Jeremiah, the megachurch pastor from San Diego, headed for a celebration of the Bible on Dec. 5 at Madison Square Garden. Published December 12, 2013
Is the Bible merely a holy book to be read during worship services and for personal devotion? Or can the Scriptures offer clues to better living? Published December 5, 2013
I've been to Jerusalem five times, and each time I learned something new. On my most recent trip, in June 2012, I learned June may not be the best time of year to visit: it was monstrously hot, and, frankly, I suffered! Published November 28, 2013
The seemingly intractable problems of the Middle East — and, indeed, the rest of the world where Christians, Jews and Muslims exist and sometimes collide — might have a simple solution: We need to listen to what everyone is saying so that we might understand each other. Published November 21, 2013
On one level, "The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less" might seem, well, just a hair short of sacrilegious: summarize each of the Bible's 1,189 chapters in the 140-character limit of a Twitter tweet. On another, it's just plain fun, which might well be one way to approach the overall themes of Scripture. Published November 14, 2013
The 10-day ecumenical lovefest known as the World Council of Churches draws to a close Friday, leaving this South Korean coastal city little changed other than the bulging coffers of many restaurateurs, hoteliers and taxi drivers. I'm not sure whether it did all that much for Christianity, however. Published November 7, 2013
There are many ways of measuring the impact of a church on its community and the world at large. Here's one you don't often see: A leading management authority cited Ebenezer's Coffee House, a project of Capitol Hill-based National Community Church, as a prime example of what organizations should do to connect with their neighbors. Published October 31, 2013
It's difficult for people to be neutral about Joel Osteen. The television preacher seems either to be loved or hated by millions of people, many of the latter having never heard or read a word of his. Published October 24, 2013
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a parable is "a short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson." Andy Andrews, a writer who lives on Alabama's Gulf Coast, writes novels, not short stories, but he tells parables nonetheless. And, I believe they're parables worth reading — and heeding. Published October 17, 2013
While much recent attention has focused on the fresh attitudes and media savvy of Pope Francis, now in his eighth month as bishop of Rome, another major denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is also seeing its top leaders express a refreshing level of candor. Published October 10, 2013
The release this week of a major new survey of Jewish Americans by the Pew Research Center revealed several intriguing points, but the one that caught my eye was that 42 percent of those polled assert that having a good sense of humor is essential to their Jewish identity. Published October 3, 2013
American Christians have some "Unfinished" business, Rich Stearns asserts, and not just because that's the title of a book he recently released via Thomas Nelson Publishers. Published September 26, 2013
He's been dead for 77 years, and Samuel Logan Brengle's influence was chiefly limited in his lifetime to the Salvation Army, a scrappy evangelical church as much as a social services mission, and to the relatively small cluster of evangelical Protestant congregations comprising the "holiness movement." Published September 19, 2013
The unsuccessful 2012 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney brought with it at least one potentially positive byproduct: a greater public examination — and perhaps more understanding — of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more popularly known as Mormons, after the church's Book of Mormon, which members consider "another testament of Jesus Christ." Published September 12, 2013
