How Pope Francis’ diplomacy may change everything, not just US-Cuba relations
David Gibson, Religion News Service
Pope Francis is being hailed around the world — and criticized by some in the US — for his pivotal role in brokering the historic breakthrough in relations between Washington and Havana, a role attributed to his background as the first Latin American pope and to the special position he occupies.
Religious Freedom Requires Rights
Greg Forster, Hang Together
Last month I gave a talk at the Evangelical Theological Society in which I defended the idea of human rights – not sham Rawlsian rights but real rights, grounded in objective claims about truth, justice and the nature of the human person. That is, rights as correlative to duties – I have a right to religious freedom because (and only because) I have a duty to worship God sincerely rather than insincerely.
Christmas Is Undefeatable
Mark Tooley, Juicy Ecumenism
A new Pew survey shows overwhelming majorities of Americans believe in the historical actuality of the Christmas story, including the Virgin Birth, the angels appearing to shepherds and the Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem.
What Advent and Interstellar Teach Us about Human Progress
Elise Amyx, Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics
I’ve always thought human progress to be somewhat of a paradox. The world seems to be getting both better and worse at the same time.
