(RNS) — When reading Christian children’s books with his three children, Matthew Paul Turner found himself having to think on the fly. Turner would do “a quick little change of the words” when he would run into a theology or idea he didn’t want to teach his children, either because he believed differently or because he believed his children were too young to need to grapple with it. Turner, who identifies as a progressive Christian, isn’t the only Christian who has shifted from conservative to progressive views as an adult. For many, that means a faith that emphasizes love, social justice and space for questions about the theological ideas they were raised to believe. And for those who are parents, it means wanting to raise their children with a different view of God and the Bible than the one they grew up with. The problem? Christian children’s resources almost all skew conservative. So Turner, who has authored a number of books for adults, started to toy with the idea of … [Read more...]

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (RNS) — Perched on his mat in the back corner of the room, Adam Park performed a series of yoga poses just like the others: Downward-facing dog, Warrior 1, Child’s pose. Unlike the others, the adjunct professor at St. Louis University was there mostly to observe and ask questions. At a later date he may return with a camera and audio recorder. The yoga routine practiced at Selah Yoga, a Christian yoga studio in a commercial center near Route 94, resembles many others. But with about five minutes remaining in the class, studio owner and instructor Risha Hoffman offered up a quote from the New Testament Book of Romans: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.” Park is a fellow with a novel project called Lived Religion in the Digital Age. The SLU project uses photos, interviews and other data to map religious happenings around … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Lieryn Barnett sometimes is so depressed, all she wants to do is sleep, she said. Other times, she’s so full of energy, she’ll be up in the middle of the night, singing or playing guitar. Or her mind will race at the same time her body won’t have the energy to do anything. All are symptoms of the bipolar disorder Barnett was diagnosed with when she was an adolescent. Medication and therapy have helped her deal with the condition, the 29-year-old said. So has her faith. “Christ gives your life value, purpose, hope, and eternal security. Without that hope I probably would not be here today,” said Barnett, a member of Two Cities Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., who has written about her experiences with bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. A new study by the Christian research firm Barna Group suggests that Barnett may not be alone in her anxiety — or in finding that faith can be an asset when dealing with mental health concerns. “The church and … [Read more...]

BOSTON (RNS) — Ismail Ajjawi, a 17-year-old Palestinian Muslim refugee, is back in Massachusetts after being blocked from entering the U.S., just in time to begin his freshman year at Harvard University. Ajjawi, who received a scholarship to attend Harvard, arrived on campus on Monday (Sept. 2), 10 days after he first flew into the U.S. from Lebanon’s Mieh Mieh Refugee Camp on Aug. 23, only to be deported for suspicions raised by his social media feeds. U.S. border officials first detained Ajjawi for eight hours at Boston Logan International Airport, where they searched his laptop and phone and interrogated him about posts that his friends had made on social media as well as his religious practices. Ajjawi told The Harvard Crimson that border officials revoked his visa, which he had received before traveling, and deported him back to Lebanon after they said they “found people posting political points of view that oppose the U.S. on my friend list.” “I responded that I … [Read more...]

CHICAGO (RNS) — On a near-perfect late summer evening, about a dozen people gathered on a picnic blanket in Chicago’s Palmer Square Park, spread between kids playing on playground equipment and young adults throwing a Frisbee disc on the lawn. Accompanied by the crunch of joggers’ footsteps on the gravel path circling the narrow strip of green in the city’s trendy Logan Square neighborhood and the rumbling of a passing El train, one of the picnickers took a piece of pita bread and broke it in half. “This is our body,” he said, passing it to the person sitting next to him. Each person repeated the gesture before digging into a spread of food from a nearby restaurant. This gathering wasn’t just another group of friends soaking up the last days of summer outside. It was church. Root & Branch Church calls this service the Welcome Table. It’s part of a growing trend of dinner churches popping up across the country in churches in a number of denominations, conservative and … [Read more...]

HONG KONG (RNS) — Since protests began more than 12 weeks ago over an extradition bill that would allow Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial, the city’s Christian community has taken an active role. Groups of Christians regularly participate in the marches that have coursed through Hong Kong’s streets every weekend since June, and their pleas for peaceful protests and their hymns and prayers are often heard along with protest chants. One hymn, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord,” written in 1974, has caught on as an anthem of the protests, sung by believers and nonbelievers alike. The Christian hymn not only inspires: It grants the protesters some protection under a technicality in Hong Kong law of public assembly that exempts religious gatherings. The bill that brought the protesters out into the streets has since been suspended, but the demonstrations have continued, turning into a larger campaign for democracy and for maintaining the “one country, two … [Read more...]