Month: May 2021

US ambassador meets with Abune Mathias in Addis Ababa after provocative video released. The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in his first public comments on the war in the country’s Tigray region is sharply criticizing Ethiopia’s actions, saying he believes it’s genocide: “They want to destroy the people of Tigray.” The United States ambassador hosted him today to learn more. In a video shot last month on a mobile phone and carried out of Ethiopia, the... Read More

What does it mean for 21st century people to engage in evangelism? In Act II, Scene II of the classic work, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, there is a famous conversation between the couple. They love each other and want to be together, but they carry the burden of their surnames, and this means that they will be apart forever. In the midst of this complicated mix of feelings and emotions, Juliet uses a metaphor to persuade Romeo that their names do not matter; she says that if a rose had... Read More

Inspired by Makoto Fujimura, an American evangelical partners with Lebanese art institute to equally dignify every death. Nine months later, Brady Black was fed up—and inspired. Last August, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in human history leveled Lebanon’s main port and thousands of homes. Charities and churches scrambled to help, as 204 people were killed. The government has done next to nothing. But now, each victim has a portrait across from Beirut’s famed... Read More

Advocates say more subtle approaches and one-on-one engagement may actually do more to inform the unvaccinated without further dividing the faithful. As COVID-19 vaccination rates slowed this spring, Americans’ attention turned toward the groups less likely to get the shot, including white evangelicals. Black Protestants were initially among the most skeptical toward the vaccine, but they grew significantly more open to it during the first few months of the year, while white... Read More

Buffeted by Russia, corruption, and culture war pressures, believers surge in national elections. Like many in America, evangelicals in Ukraine feel under siege. It may be why people are starting to elect them—in record numbers. “Ukraine has become the epicenter of a global spiritual battle,” said Pavel Unguryan, coordinator of Ukraine’s National Prayer Breakfast. “Today, as never before, our nation needs unity, peace, and the authority of God’s... Read More

The LGBT movement was shaped by the animosity of populist evangelical rhetoric and tactics. Over the past decade, significant pillars of the evangelical community have wavered in their convictions about marriage and human sexuality. In 2014, World Vision announced it would hire Christians in same-sex relationships—only to reverse course after a backlash threatened donations. Things have gone differently for Bethany Christian Services, one of the country’s leading adoption... Read More