Topic: Old Testament

The Monitor's View: Christmas in Newtown: restoring childlike innocence

A big Christmas tree in Newtown, Conn., has become a memorial site for the Sandy Hook children killed at their elementary school. Many faiths use a Christmas-like embrace of an innocent child to help them in troubled times and restore the promise of purity.

Cover Story
Jailed without conviction: Behind bars for lack of money

About 10 million people are jailed each year for crimes large and small. Most – two-thirds of the 750,000 in jail on any given day – stay long periods without conviction at great cost to the public and to themselves because they can't afford bail.

Difference Maker
Ruben Garcia sought his mission in life. He found it helping the 'poorest of the poor'

Ruben Garcia founded Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, which aids immigrants fleeing violence in Mexico and Central America.

When the other candidate wins

A Christian Science perspective.

Bill Nye, former 'Science Guy,' warns creationism threatens US science (+video)

Bill Nye, a mechanical engineer and star of the popular 1990s TV show 'Bill Nye The Science Guy,' has waded into the evolution debate with an online video that urges parents not to pass their religious-based doubts about evolution on to their children.

Chapter & Verse
James Lee Burke discusses 'Creole Belle' and the end of 'traditional' America

'Creole Belle' author James Lee Burke talks about the inspiration for his new book and his detective protagonist Dave Robicheaux.

How can 'now' be eternal?

How big is your infinite?

A Christian Science perspective: Recent news of the possibility of scientists' discovery of the subatomic particle Higgs boson, also known as the 'God particle,' evokes fresh thought about what makes up our world.

Bulgaria gay parade peaceful, despite provocations

A gay pride march in the Bulgarian capital Sofia stayed peaceful Saturday, but homosexuality remains a sensitive issue across the Balkans.

The 100 best books of all time

How many of these "100 best books of all time" have you read?

The Monitor's View: Diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

As Britain celebrates the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth's 1952 ascension to the throne, it can also assess her legacy in balancing the monarch's duty as 'supreme governor' of the Church of England with being head of state.

Overcrowded prisons: what to do?

A Christian Science perspective.

Breaking down walls that divide

A Christian Science perspective.

Chapter & Verse
Festival of Faith and Writing: the conference that brought John Updike, Salman Rushdie to western Michigan

This year's Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College included Jonathan Safran Foer, Marilynne Robinson, Chimimanda Ngoze Adichie, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Leila Aboulela.

Cover Story
The faith factor: Religion's new prominence in campaign 2012

Whose beliefs matter? From birth control to taxes, religion is playing an unprecedented role in campaign 2012.

Backchannels
Netanyahu gives Obama the Book of Esther. Biblical parable for nuclear Iran?

Esther tells of a Persian plot against the Jews that was thwarted through cunning and the intercession of a gentile king. Purim, the holiday that celebrates the story, starts tonight.

See the plowshare in the sword

A Christian Science perspective.

Wow! Some words are, like, really old!

Even words bearing the stamp of one particular era often go back surprisingly deep into earlier times.

A spitting incident sets off Israeli frustration with Jewish zealotry

The harassment of a schoolgirl by Beit Shemesh's ultra-Orthodox community has ignited mainstream Israelis' simmering frustrations with the religious community's growing influence. 

When change in your life seems drastic

A Christian Science perspective.

Africa Monitor
In remote eastern Congo, consensus is that upcoming election won't be fair

In eastern Congo's South Kivu region, one of the most-conflict ridden areas of the country, pessimism is widespread, particularly when it comes to the candidates themselves. 

King James Bible anniversary marked by Queen

King James Bible: The translation — the Old Testament from Hebrew, the New Testament from Greek — was assembled by 47 translators in six committees working in London, Oxford and Cambridge.

Anti-Wall Street protest: Big clash averted for now (video)

Anti-Wall Street protest cheers delay in park cleaning. But New York City police arrest more than a dozen in an impromptu anti-Wall Street protest around the New York Stock Exchange.

Why Ron Paul did well among social conservatives at the Values Voter Summit

Ron Paul won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll of Republican hopefuls by a relative whopping 37 percent of the vote. His combination of organized supporters and a strong biblical theme worked well.

Opinion: British riots: Cameron clashes with basic law

By proposing that rioters and their families be evicted from public housing, British Prime Minister Cameron is promoting collective punishment for the acts of an individual – an ancient injustice that the Old Testament rejected.