Friday's News & Ideas - 2/16/2024

Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon?
The Associated Press: Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. At least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one.

Staff member fired from Fuller Seminary explains why she couldn’t sign the statement of faith anymore
Baptist News Global: Ruth Schmidt considered herself a loyal member of the team at Fuller Seminary — until she was dismissed because she refused to re-sign the school’s statement of faith, which prohibits affirmation of same-sex marriage.

Can American congregations learn to embrace the uncoupled?
Religion News Service: Many American congregations tend to focus on traditional families, recollecting a mid-20th-century model for church growth or else simply as a model of what a Christian life should be.

How Contemporary Christian music explains American Christianity*
Christianity Today: When the CCM business model faltered, it gave way to what sells even better — politics and fearmongering.

Jewish identity with and without Zionism*
The New Yorker: New books provide sober histories of the conflicts among Jews over Israel and offer alternate ways forward.

The Spark

The lure of divorce 
Seven years into my marriage,* Emily Gould hit a breaking point — and had to decide whether life would be better without her husband in it, she writes at the Cut.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers