The Middle Easts favorite sweet symbolizes Good Friday. 　　Maamoul is a buttery cookie baked with semolina and stuffed with dates or nutsusually walnuts or pistachios. Seasoned with a variety of spices, for centuries it has flavored the Easter holiday for Christians, the end of Ramadan for Muslims, and Purim for the Sephardic Jews of Jerusalem. 　　Three shapes are common: an...

　　Palm Sunday looked different this year for a small majority-immigrant church in Fort Worth. For part of the service, the pastors invited an immigration lawyer to speak about what to expect if Texas enacts a new law that authorizes the state to arrest and deport migrants. 　　There is a lot of fear in our church in regard to this law...

　　Our current education system (higher ed joined with K-12) was born in the Progressive Era. Before 1900, American education was, as progressives say, the Wild West. Many different kinds of grammar and secondary schools bloomed, including what we now call K-12 systems, but also prep schools, boarding schools, trade schools, simple K-8 schools, homeschools, country schools. Compulsory schooling laws, started...

　　In studies on democracy and constitutionalism, two oft-cited letters exchanged between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1789 and 1790 reveal a perennial debate about constitutional change. Let us summarize the arguments with the Federalist Papers, which have much in common with the Argentine political and economic context. 　　Jefferson sustains that the people, as the holders of sovereignty, should not...

　　Why the Book of Psalms Is for You 　　By Dane C. Ortlund 　　“Blessed is the manwhowalks not inthe counsel of the wicked, nor stands inthe way of sinners, norsits inthe seat ofscoffers;but hisdelight is in the lawof the LORD, and on hislaw he meditates day and night.” –Psalm 1:1-2 　　The Psalms Speak to Our Humanness 　　The Psalms are not written...

　　Americans get cold feet when it comes to footwashing, experts say. 　　Maundy Thursday is a Holy Week service marking the Last Supper. In some faith traditions, that service has included footwashing from the example in John 13, where Jesus washes his disciples feet during the supper and says, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you...

　　The Alabama Supreme Court held in LePage v. The Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C. that the parents of embryos created through in vitro fertilization could bring a statutory wrongful death claim when the clinic where their embryos were stored allowed the destruction of the parents’ embryos by an intruder. The decision prompted a firestorm of stories seemingly written to frighten...

　　The word “civilization” is unfashionable in our times. It implies a contrast, and that contrast is uncomfortable. If some societies have attained a cultural level that merits this designation, it may follow that other societies are less civilized or—worse—even barbarous. For many people today, making any such value-judgment is simply unacceptable. 　　Those who maintain that such distinctions can and should...

　　God Transforms Us Into New Creations 　　Weekly Overview: 　　We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs...

　　Russian evangelicals used Sunday sermons to condemn a terrorist attack that killed more than 130 people at a Moscow concert hall. 　　As Russias Baptist union prayed for Gods mercy and protection, its Pentecostal union conveyed its bitterness and sorrow. Vitaly Vlasenko, general secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, called it a painful shock that could unleash unbridled revenge against terrorism....

　　The number of violent anti-Christian incidents in India jumped to 601 in 2023 compared to 413 the previous year, according to a new report from the Evangelical Fellowship of Indias Religious Liberty Commission (EFI-RLC). 　　Despite constitutional protections and Indias long-standing tradition of religious diversity, the rise of divisive rhetoric and inflammatory language, often condoned or inadequately addressed by official channels,...

　　Sandra Crouch, the twin sister and collaborator of gospel music legend Andra Crouch, died earlier this month after an illness, her publicist said. 　　Crouch, 81, who died on March 17, will be honored with a musical tribute and funeral at New Christ Memorial Church in San Fernando, California, set for April 16-17, according to an announcement. 　　She died in a...