The real lessons of Jesus Christ as outlined in the Bible are socialist. But the Church, a veritable old boys club, doesn’t teach us that.
For some, this recent decision is a source of celebration and perhaps even symbolic, finally, of full equality in the church for gay and lesbian members.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation
The Uniting Church has been grappling with questions of faith and sexuality for decades - and its openness has led to relatively smooth changes to doctrine and practice.
New priests being ordained during a ceremony led by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, when they take vows, including to remain celibate.
AP Photo/Andrew Medichini
Early Christians were open to marriage for priests. It wasn’t until the 12th century that celibacy became mandatory in the Catholic Church.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a mass in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Russia, on Jan. 7, 2018.
Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
During the Cold War, American evangelicals smuggled Bibles and other Christian literature to the Soviet Union and other communist countries. They still see Russia as a partner on evangelical values.
President Trump has promised to protect religious liberty. But there was a time when evangelicals believed that a religion that needed protection from government had no reason to exist at all.
Pope Francis said the death penalty, can never be sanctioned because it ‘attacks’ the inherent dignity of all humans.
AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file
Pope Francis has said that death penalty violates the dignity of a person. But, this might just deepen the debate among Christians, who for a long time have been divided over the issue.
All Saints Episcopal Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Carolyn Fitzpatrick
Many believe their morality comes from their religion. But evidence suggests that people’s opinion of what God thinks is actually what they believe is right and wrong, not the other way around.
In 2014, in, a small town in northern Israel, Christian worshippers gathered next to a statue of the Virgin Mary, that they said ‘weeps’ oil.
AP Photo/Ariel Schalit
Throughout Catholic history, miracles have been attributed to Virgin Mary’s power. She is understood to cry not only over the sins of the world, but over the pain she experienced in her earthly life.
Illustration of Dante’s Paradiso.
Giovanni di Paolo
Different cultural groups respond with numerous, often conflicting, answers to questions about life after death. An expert explains the Christian idea of heaven.
Pope Paul VI banned contraception for Catholics in the 1968 encyclical, “Humanae Vitae.”
AP Photo/Jim Pringle
July marks 50 years of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical prohibiting contraceptive use. For many years prior to it, the church had not been so explicit on its stance. How did it become such a thorny issue?
What do we really know about homelessness in the U.S.?
Dmytro Zinkevych/shutterstock.com
Are most homeless mentally ill? Is it inevitable that a society will have homeless people? A researcher digs into the real data on homelessness.
In June, 2009, people were invited to bring their firearms without bullets during a service at the New Bethel Church Louisville, Ky.
AP Photo/Ed Reinke, Pool
There is a long line of well-armed American preachers – both real and fictional – in US history and culture, confirming perhaps the view that true justice cannot be enforced by institutions alone.
Guitarist David Hinds at Reggae on the Rocks in Denver, Colorado.
Photo by Rick Scuteri/Invision/AP
Reggae is the musical expression of Rastafari, a belief system of migrants to Jamaica. A popular song, ‘Rivers of Babylon,’ offers a window into their spirituality and longing for their homeland.
A protest against the family separation policy in Los Angeles in mid June.
Eugene Garcia/EPA
The US attorney general cited Paul’s letter to the Romans to justify the Trump administration family separation policy. Here’s why that’s a misreading of the Bible.
Britain’s Queen Mother Elizabeth chats with Eric North, secretary of the American Bible Society, during a visit to the organization’s headquarters in New York City on Oct. 28, 1954.
AP Photo/John Lindsay
Forty years ago, the Mormon church reversed restrictions on its members of African-American descent. Today, the church wants to celebrate the value of its diversity.
Evangelical Christian educator, Paige Patterson.
AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser, File
With controversial Christian educators like Paige Patterson who believe that the Bible teaches women to submit to men, it matters to know today that evangelicals encouraged women’s education in the past.
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity