Friday’s News & Ideas - 8/22/2025
- ‘Man-made’ famine in Gaza
- Dance as worship
- Pastors on discipleship
- Christians against empathy
- Faith leaders & federal cuts
- Teaching philosophy in prison
Samaritan’s Purse joins Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid efforts in Gaza
Religion News Service: Since July 26, Samaritan’s Purse has sent eight relief flights and a medical team to Gaza — one of the only faith-based groups to join the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s efforts.
CNN: Gaza City suffering a ‘man-made’ famine that’s likely to spread, UN-backed initiative says
From the early church to ‘Boots on the Ground,’ dance is worship
Sojourners: The relationship between dance and the church is a complicated one, marked by both repression and resistance.
Pastors unsure if discipleship is really happening in their churches
Religion Unplugged: In the first part of the State of Discipleship study from Lifeway Research, U.S. Protestant pastors shared their understanding of what discipleship means and how it best occurs.
Can empathy lead to sin? Some conservative Christians argue it can
The Associated Press: Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to human decency and kindness. And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the Christian right are preaching that it has become a vice.
NYC faith leaders look to coordinate as federal cuts strain pantries and soup kitchens
Religion News Service: With federal funding cuts impacting food pantry resources across the nation, faith leaders in New York pledge new collaborations to sustain the city’s food banks and soup kitchens.
The Spark
Socrates would be pleased
With a class of college students and inmates, teaching philosophy in prison is a rowdy, honest and hopeful provocation, Aeon says.
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