Friday’s News & Ideas - 12/5/2025
- Terror of Advent
- Abuse survivors testify
- Catholic HBCU
- History of apologetics
- Religious change in Latin America
- The voice of AI
Advent in all its terror*
The Christian Century: If we remove the difficult facts of history leading up to Jesus’ birth, the story loses its power.
Survivors of New Orleans clergy abuse weigh forgiveness in court: ‘It destroyed my faith in God’
The Guardian: Victims share painful memories in trial aiming to determine fairness of archdiocese’s $230m settlement proposal.
Celebrating its first century, Xavier University of Louisiana perseveres as Catholic HBCU
Religion News Service: “Being rooted in faith is what leads us to be resilient,” said the president of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament on Xavier’s Founder’s Day.
Godly persuasion
ARC: In his forthcoming book “The Search for a Rational Faith,” historian Daniel K. Williams traces the history of Christian apologetics from the English Puritans to modern-day evangelicals.
‘Yes’ to God, but ‘no’ to church — what religious change looks like for many Latin Americans
The Conversation: While fewer Latin Americans are identifying with a religion or attending services, personal faith remains strong.
The Spark
Why does A.I. write like … that?
If only they were robotic! Instead, chatbots have developed a distinctive — and grating — voice,* The New York Times Magazine says.
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
