Monthly Archives: February 2018

By Tish Harrison Warren Today, on Valentine’s Day, while the world is bedecked with schmaltzy red and pink hearts, I will stand before kneeling members of my congregation and tell them that they are going to die. This, without a … Continue reading →

By Ann Powers In 1947, a white Southern musical entrepreneur named Lee Roy Abernathy made a move that shook up churchgoing America – and the sound of popular music. That winter, the Georgia-born pianist and songwriter went into an Atlanta … Continue reading →

By Steve Beard The art world is in a high-dollar tizzy after a controversial Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus sold for nearly half a billion dollars. The mid-November auction “saw a tense 20 minute battle between at least six … Continue reading →

By Steve Beard  For three years, they were ultimately voyaging back home. Along the way, they circumnavigated the globe – without so much as a compass. The crew of the Hokule’a, a 62-foot-long Polynesian sailing canoe, traversed more than 40,000 … Continue reading →

On Feb. 14, sweethearts of all ages will exchange cards, flowers, candy, and more lavish gifts in the name of St. Valentine. But as a historian of Christianity, I can tell you that at the root of our modern holiday … Continue reading →

Most fans will remember John Mahoney as eccentric dad — Martin Crane — from the fabulous television show Frasier. Others will know him from his acting with Chicago’s renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Mahoney died this week. In a revealing interview … Continue reading →

By Winthrop S. Hudson Encounter, Winter 1968, Volume 29 “I do believe, without a doubt / The Christian has a right to shout.” [1] When one thinks of early nineteenth-century Methodists, one immediately thinks of the name which was commonly applied … Continue reading →

Katie Bowler lives with stage IV cancer. Her essay in the New York Times is elegantly pastoral. It is superb analysis. She was diagnosed as a young mother in her mid-30s. “EVERY 90 days I lie in a whirling CT machine, dye … Continue reading →

By Erik Pederson “Alice Cooper, whose theatricality is the stuff of legend, is the perfect rock star to play Herod in our live production,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of NBC Entertainment. “Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote a showstopping … Continue reading →