“Christianity” on The Daily Caller

This Easter, I taught Sunday school. The topic was what Charles Dickens called “the greatest short story ever told,” the poet Robert Bridges labeled a “flawless piece of art” and preachers have identified as “the pearl of the parables,” “the essence of the Christian faith” and “the central message of the whole New Testament.” (more)

Rob Bell is one of the hottest Christian preachers in the nation today, but does he say anything that’s uniquely Christian? In his new book, “Love Wins,” Bell paints a picture of a God who loves, but doesn’t ground it in God’s defining act of love towards men: the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Instead, what he says could easily be embraced by Mormons, Muslims, and Jews alike. As such, Bell robs the Christian message of its power to save. (more)

I often hear those on the right say that the left has stolen the language and that we must take it back. Yet I really don’t see or hear this occurring. In fact, I don’t really think the right is serious about taking back the language. If it were, would conservatives continue using terms like “African-American” and “xenophobia”? (more)

Before hitting the “buy” prompt, my index finger hovered over my iTouch. (more)

Pope Benedict XVI exonerates the Jewish people as a whole from responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in a new book due to be published this month, prompting praise from Jewish groups. (more)

They see it as their Christian duty. But others disagree, saying it extends the hand of fellowship where it was never intended to go.’ (more)

Last week, I wrote in The Daily Caller about the arrest for alleged sexual abuse of Garrett Orr, a former priest and teacher at my high school alma mater, Georgetown Prep. That piece can be found here. (more)

In his play A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt described the Church of England thus: “The Church of England, that finest flower of our Island genius for compromise; that system, peculiar to these shores, the despair of foreign observers, which deflects the torrents of religious passion down the canals of moderation.” (more)

One religion story that escaped almost everyone’s notice this past weekend is that the nation’s largest Episcopal diocese voted to allow church-sanctioned same-sex unions. (more)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI told Catholic bloggers and Facebook and YouTube users Monday to be respectful of others when spreading the Gospel online and not to see their ultimate goal as getting as many online hits as possible. (more)

On May 1, John Paul II is going to be declared a blessed of the Catholic Church — a declaration that he is one step away from sainthood. However, John Paul II was such a dynamic, charismatic figure that many Catholics can’t leave his legacy at “blessed” or even “saint.” The epithets by which different groups of Catholics remember him can help in evaluating the legacy of this great man. (more)

This article is part of a three-part series. To read “Christianity is conservative,” click here. To read an opposing view, “Christianity is not conservative,” click here.  (more)

To read a response to this article, “Christianity is conservative,” by the Family Research Council’s Rob Schwarzwalder, click here. To read “Christianity is neither conservative nor socialist,” click here. (more)

This article is part of a three-part series. To read an opposing view, “Christianity is not conservative,” click here. To read “Christianity is neither conservative nor socialist,” click here. (more)

With attacks against Christians on the rise in majority-Muslim nations in the Middle East, experts say the future of Christianity in the region is gravely threatened. (more)

Socialists, drug addicts, gospel music — and Martin Sheen. Welcome to the coolest Mass in D.C. (more)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has arrested about 70 Christians since Christmas in a crackdown that demonstrates the limits of religious tolerance by Islamic leaders who often boast they provide room for other faiths. (more)

Continuing his decades-long tradition of New Year’s predictions, Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat Robertson appeared on Monday’s broadcast of the “700 Club” to share what he says God told him about 2011. (more)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to remain strong in the face of intolerance and violence in a New Year’s appeal that came several hours after a bomb blast outside an Egyptian church that killed at least 21 people as worshippers left Mass. (more)

A recent article in USA Today (Many Skip Christmas’ Religious Aspect, December 20) reports that while nine out of 10 Americans celebrate Christmas, less than half attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and less than 30 percent read or tell the nativity story from Luke. (more)