Memorial libraries have been in the news of late. The admirers of the late Margaret Thatcher have begun raising money for a library and research center in her memory, and last week the George W. Bush Presidential Library opened in Dallas, joining the libraries honoring the...

If we looked for the most influential figures in American Christianity today, some of them wouldn't surprise us at all. We'd find the Apostle Paul and John Calvin near the top of some people's lists -- or, at least, some people's understandings of the Apostle Paul and John Calvin.

Des dizaines de milliers de festivaliers envahiront bientôt mon patelin au cours des prochaines semaines, à l'occasion du grand rendez-vous musical, cinématographique et artistique nommé South by Southwest (SXSW). De jour comme de nuit, la capitale du Texas sera l'hôte d'innombrables conférences et performances qui favoriseront le réseautage...

Tens of thousands of you will be coming to my hometown, Austin, Texas, over the next few weeks for the film, music, and interactive festivals the world knows as South by Southwest. Your days and nights will be packed -- you'll be going to panels and performances, networking,...

Austin author Suzy Spencer has been writing about the real world for years--first as a best-selling true crime author, and then, more recently, as she immersed herself in years of research for what writer friends in Austin knew as "the sex book." When that book, Secret...

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living.

Almost everyone can identify with these lines from "Les Miserables," which are almost certain to earn Anne Hathaway an Oscar. Whether it's the loss of a loved one, of a job, or of a dream, at...

This Sunday, my church, St. David's Episcopal in Austin, Texas, hosted our bishop, who began her sermon with a prayer for the people of Newtown, Connecticut. A hush fell over the congregation; women wept and crusty old men wiped away tears. During the announcement period, our rector announced that the...

Florida may yet be counting its votes, but the election is over. Thousands of hours of campaign events, billions of dollars in commercials, zillions of e-mails and phone calls later, we have reelected President Obama, elected new senators, governors, members of congress, state and local officials.

But the...

This week, a college student at the back of a crowded auditorium at a church-related school asked me how we could fix our political system. It was a good question: heads nodded all around her. "How can we as Christians change things so that when we come into power we...

As temperatures start to fall, things are starting to heat up in Austin, Texas. Some people clamor for University of Texas Longhorns football, others pine for the fall trifecta of the Austin City Limits Festival, Austin Film Festival and Texas Book Festival.

Whether you're...

The Church of England recently released a statement condemning the British government's intention to move forward in legalizing gay marriage. Although the government has been clear that religious institutions will never be forced to marry couples of any gender if it is against their conscience, the Church expressed...

Lots is happening in Austin, Texas between spring's South by Southwest and fall's Austin City Limits Festival. Whether you're a visitor, new Austinite or long-time resident, here are some things you shouldn't miss this summer if you want to keep cool, keep entertained and keep yourself happily fed and watered.

I saw The Avengers (British title Avengers Assemble) last week with a multi-ethnic audience in Edgeware Road, London. They went gaga over it, as have critics (it is one of the best-reviewed films of the past year, with a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 97...

According to CNN, "Christ is missing" from The Voice, the new contemporary language Bible from Thomas Nelson Publishers, while Bob Smietana's article for Religion News Service, which has appeared in USA Today and in other newspapers around the world opens with this lede: "The name Jesus...

"What's the appropriate soundtrack for kids killing kids?" Entertainment Weekly asks in regard to the soundtrack for the highly-anticipated movie The Hunger Games that premieres in the U.S. on Friday, March 23. If you're a grown-up, maybe you're appalled by that question. And maybe you'll be even more...

Rowan Williams, the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, announced from London this morning that he was stepping down from his post as head of the Anglican Communion -- almost 80 million Christians -- at the end of 2012. He'll be returning to the classroom and to academia as Master...

Thousands of people are gathering right now in London's Trafalgar Square, just down the road from me, for the gala world premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," the final film in the most-popular film series of all time. This is, as the film's advertising...

I've been reflecting over the past week -- and writing over at Patheos -- about possible Christian responses to the execution of Osama bin Laden. As I watched the TV news, read Twitter feeds, read newspapers and magazines, checked my Facebook feed, I observed jubilation, righteous assurance, ambivalence,...

I can't speak for all writers, but I can say I tend to be thin-skinned. Although I strive for healthier practice, I still often hear the one critical voice standing in an approving crowd. And when you write things that lovingly but honestly ask hard questions about religious beliefs and...

Many Americans, particularly people in their teens, twenties, and thirties, have a virulent negative reaction to Christianity as they understand it. It seems to them to be too narrowly focused on piety and individual salvation, too judgmental and homophobic, too directly identified with a particular far-right political agenda....