Opinion

There’s a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and its dictator “won” an unfair election last year to hold power. But if the recent past in Latin America — and elsewhere — teaches us anything, it’s that military invasions and coups destabilize nations, spark civil wars, devastate local economies and result in the deaths of many innocent civilians.

(RNS) — Despite the fact we are living through a truly epic economic boom, the average congregation in the U.S. has 70 regular participants. But anyone who understands congregations will recognize at once why market solutions will not really work here for struggling churches: Most congregations are more like families than businesses.

The number of civilian-owned firearms has surpassed the U.S. population. With all of these firearms in the U.S., if the idea that “good guys” with guns stop “bad guys” with guns were correct, then gun-related violence should be trending downward. It's not.

(RNS) — When I was a child, church was one of the only safe spaces I knew. At home, violence hid behind closed doors. Meanwhile, the church’s doors were open to me. That sense of peace and security wouldn’t last.

Depending on who is doing the name-calling, the use of demeaning language to describe others, to name them in a derogatory way, is but a first step that may ultimately lead to suffering and death. Much of our nation’s history illustrates the truth of this claim.

What would a yearbook audit of today’s prominent Christian leaders reveal? Governor Northam’s incident with racist tropes provides Christians with the opportunity to self-audit for incidents of racism.

In a blog post I published just over a year ago, I wrote these words: ‘Bad theology can make people kill each other’. Nothing I have seen or read since then has made me change my mind.

As of press time, the U.S. government was reopening after the longest shutdown ever. Although I don’t work for the government, I was surprised how many times the shutdown impacted me.

(The Conversation) Among the many decision-making methods for life’s big decisions, one that stands out is from an early 16th-century soldier-turned-mystic, St. Ignatius of Loyola, who uses the language of faith.

New York’s Reproductive Health Act permits abortion on demand up until the moment of birth.