Feeling blessed?
Nick Lehr/The Conversation
The prosperity gospel – a uniquely American strand of Christian theology – creates a dilemma for its adherents.
Also available in chocolate.
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What on Earth have chocolate rabbits got to do with Easter? Rather a lot, actually.
Detail Da Vinci’s The Last Supper by Giacomo Raffaelli. Judas seated second right.
Alberto Fernandez Fernandez [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Judas has had a 2,000-year raw deal. Here’s why it’s time for a rethink.
The Venerable Bede.
The Venerable Bede translates John 1902; James Doyle Penrose (1862-1932); Wikimedia
The medieval English scholar was a devoted student of Computus – the calculation of the date of Easter.
Peter Gertner Crucifixion Walters.
The sources offer an intriguing – and surprising – insight.
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Archaeologists are launching a crowdfunded search for Lindisfarne monastery, famous for St Cuthbert and Lindisfarne Gospels.
While some conservatives worry about the Safe Schools program ‘turning’ kids gay, they in turn seem determined to turn queer kids straight.
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The review of the Safe Schools program is yet another example of the misguided conservative anxiety that talking about homosexuality can “turn” children gay.
The Crusades evoke a romantic image of medieval knights, chivalry, romance and religious high-mindedness.
David Wise/Flickr
Representing even the Crusades as wars between Christians and Muslims is a gross oversimplification and a misreading of history.
Islamic State fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province.
Reuters/Stringer
Despite what we’re told, religion isn’t inherently peaceful. People kill in the name of their religion, just as they love in its name.
Forty days in the wilderness: Temptations of Christ, St Mark’s Basilica.
Lent is inextricably linked to Jesus’s 40 days in the wilderness, right? In fact, it’s not that simple.
Reuters/pool
After more than a millenium, Pope Francis I will meet the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. They will have plenty to talk about.
Anglican Dean of Brisbane Dr Peter Catt is leading a sanctuary offer to asylum-seekers facing deportation to Nauru.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
In offering to open church buildings across Australia as places of sanctuary for asylum seekers, church leaders are appealing to an ancient notion of how we should treat people in need of protection.
Anthony Patterson
A windswept rock at what was the edge of the Medieval world is a fitting place for a Jedi hermit.
Can secular celebrations ignore the connection between Santa and Jesus?
Sand sculptures by Sudarsan Patnaik. Sanjib Mukherjee/Reuters
You might not believe in God, but do you tell your kids about Santa? How do you explain Christmas to your children if you and they are not religious?
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The carol ‘Silent Night’ has been translated into 140 languages and renditions have been sung by everyone, from Bing Crosby to Chewbacca. This is the story behind its success.
In the Netherlands, the tradition goes that Sinterklaas lives in Madrid, wears a red clerical robe and a bishop’s mitre, and has servants called ‘Zwarte Pieten’ (Black Peters).
from www.shutterstock.com
The celebration of Christmas has distinct variations around the world, with many of these local traditions arising from particular historical circumstances.
Jesus, Stained Glass Detail Of The Church St Etienne Fecamp, Normandy, France.
Mamjodh/flickr
We all know his name, but the face of Christ remains frustratingly elusive … doesn’t it?
Compulsory lessons for modern Britain.
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A new report has set out a vision of diversity for British schools – including repeal of the law for compulsory Christian assembly.
Welby is supporting a ‘forceful response’.
Reuters/Stefan Wermuth
A motion passed at the Synod is in direct contravention of Christian values.
Paris’ famed Notre Dame Cathedral was in lockdown after terrorist attacks across the city killed more than 100 people.
EPA/Ian Langsdon
Islam, like Christianity, has a capacity for violence and a capacity for peace, and neither is in essence peaceful or violent.