Seventy years ago last night the Holocaust formally began in Nazi Germany during an organized riot since known as “Kristallnacht.” On the night of November 9-10, 1938, 92 Jews were murdered and as many as 30,000 were sent to concentration camps, more than 200 Synagogues and thousands of Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked or destroyed.
Via Media of Fort Worth envisions what the future Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth might look like after the upcoming convention vote.
The current financial crisis is also a moral and ethical crisis. Michael Smith says the current crisis is a result of separating capitalism from conscience.
Our baptismal covenant teaches us that Christians need community. Still, finding healthy, supportive Christian community is hard work. Timothy C. Geoffrion reflects on the obstacles to Christian community and the joys of living within it.
Muslims got rough treatment during the last election. One campaign tried to smear their opponent by claiming Islam is a shorthand for terrorism. The other campaign virtually ignored the Islamic community so that those smears would not stick. Journalist Jonathan Curiel wants to change that.
Obama’s election has given Americans the message that hope is viable, that change is really possible. He galvanized huge numbers of his compatriots across the board, particularly young people who had become disillusioned with politics. He drew huge numbers of volunteers and raised record amounts of money, not just in donations from the wealthy but in relatively small amounts from many so-called ordinary people. Judging by the reception he received in Berlin earlier this year, he has given the world similar hope.
Latin American countries have long celebrated a plethora of Roman Catholic public holidays, from Corpus Christi to St Peter and St Paul. But this year Chile set a regional precedent, declaring October 31st a public holiday in honour of “the evangelical and Protestant churches”. It marks the date in 1517 when Martin Luther pinned his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, starting the Protestant Reformation. Only Slovenia and some German states take it as a holiday.
Is the Obama presidency the final nail in the coffin for the Religious Right? Don’t count on it. For one thing, political movements like the Religious Right don’t need a “god” to succeed, but they do need a devil. Nothing builds allegiances among a coalition like a common enemy.
It’s important to remember that we have never had this level of public support for marriage equality before. In eight years in California alone, the majority in favor of banning marriage equality has gone from 61 to 52 percent. Meanwhile, California’s legislature has voted for it, 18,000 couples are legally married in California, and legally comparable (if still unequal) domestic partnerships are available. Very soon, thousands of gay couples will be able to marry in Connecticut. The one state with a history of marriage equality, Massachusetts, is showing how good and positive a reform it is. New York recognizes Massachusetts’ civil marriages.
Beyond Relevance tells a modern day parable about church marketing. What if Starbucks used church marketing?