News & Ideas

Friday's News & Ideas - 1/18/2019

  • The people of MLK's sermons
  • Clergy mourning Mary Oliver
  • State-guided faith?
  • Billy Sunday & pop-culture preaching
  • Church & the common good
  • Marvel of the human dad

The people of MLK's sermons, in one graphic
Vox: Martin Luther King Jr. often used characters in his sermons. Most frequently, he spoke of politicians and activists -- often his friends, sometimes his heroes, and even his enemies.
Religion News Service: Howard Thurman, mentor to King who preached nonviolence, featured in documentary

Why this rabbi loved Mary Oliver
Religion News Service: If there was a place where Christian (and other) spirituality met Jewish spirituality, it was Mary Oliver. That is why so many priests, ministers, and rabbis are in mourning today.

Could state-guided faith be a trend of the future?
The Economist: It has emerged in different forms in both Russia and China.

Pop-culture preaching in the 1910s
JSTOR Daily: Billy Sunday was a charismatic preacher who brought in thousands to his vaudeville-inspired church services.

The church and the common good
Cardus: Can we equate the church's eternal mission with temporary politics?

The Spark

The marvel of the human dad
Among our close animal relatives, only humans have involved and empathic fathers, Aeon reports. Why did evolution favor the devoted dad?

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