Religion

Musings From the ‘Messiah’1
- Politics, Culture, Religion
- December 19, 2022
One of my favorite Christmas events is the performance of Handel’s “Messiah” at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Although I almost wore out my cassette tape version of the “Messiah” listening to it in my teens, hearing it again live, in the midst of soaring ceilings and impressive stone carvings, never fails to
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Whatever Happened to Saint Nicholas?3
- Culture, Religion
- December 13, 2022
How did a fourth-century, heretic-slapping bishop from Southern Turkey wind up being a fat, Coca-Cola-swigging American elf? Saint Nicholas was born into a wealthy Christian family in the third century. His parents died in a plague, and having inherited the family fortune, he decided to obey the radical call of Christ and give it to
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Restoring Society’s Foundations Isn’t a Lost Cause 2
- Politics, Culture, Religion
- December 8, 2022
Were you to peer into my brain in recent months, you would find that a main thought running through it is our country’s desperate need for restoration and repair. Not so much in the physical sense, but in the mental, emotional, and spiritual sense—a renewal of the foundations upon which basic life in this country
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Finding Hope in These Trying Times 10
- Religion, Culture
- December 5, 2022
It was Election Day, and I was working in the DL Campus Coffee Shop, a church-affiliated establishment on Front Royal’s Main Street. A confession: I don’t write in this café because of its Jesus posters and religious music but because it’s quiet, the staff is pleasant, and patrons generally avoid bellowing into their phones as
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Reviving the Church: How to Get Young People in the Pews 15
- Religion, Culture
- December 2, 2022
Only 54 percent of Christians aged 18–35 attend church once a month or more. Meanwhile, Christianity is rapidly declining in the American population, especially in the younger generations. The secularization of society is evident wherever we turn, and it will only worsen as young people continue to turn away from Christianity. To survive, the church
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Judge Blocks New York’s Ban on Guns in Church—for Now 0
- Politics, Religion
- October 28, 2022
A federal judge last week stopped New York state officials from enforcing the part of a new gun law that bans firearms from places of worship, at least temporarily. The Oct. 20 ruling is a small but important Second Amendment victory for New Yorkers and advocates of self-defense in a state that largely has been hostile to
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