ArcaMax

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: My daughter moved her children from a public school to a private Christian school. It’s costly, but she and her husband decided they would give up vacations and take other cost-saving measures to get their children into a better academic environment where the Word of God is taught and honored, and...Read more

Growing up in a religious family, Florida Republican state Sen. Alexis Calatayud has seen how many church communities are no longer anchored to a single building in the way they used to be. Her small prayer groups take place over chats these days, not necessarily in person or sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in pews.

With churches in her Miami-Dade...Read more

Q: Dear Rabbi Gellman, several weeks ago, you had a column in our Patriot News in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Lilith. I accidentally threw out the paper without cutting that article out. Several times I have tried to access it, but I cannot remember the date and also tried to Google your column on Lilith, to no avail. Could you please send ...Read more

Across America, churches meant to be sanctuaries are facing deadly threats in the 21st century, and safeguarding congregations from attacks has become increasingly challenging.

Church security is a hugely complicated field, experts say, one that brings no one-size-fits-all solutions and few easy answers. Churches range in size from tiny ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Rev. Rodney Hudson has had enough scary confrontations in and around his churches that he has taken safety measures many would consider extreme.

There was the day he was giving the eulogy at a funeral and the son of the deceased rose to attack him in the pulpit. And another day, when two men mugged him in the church parking ...Read more

CHICAGO — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the upbeat hoop-head Loyola University Chicago chaplain who became an adored national figure during the school’s 2018 run to the Final Four, died Thursday in Chicago. She was 106.

Loyola announced her death late Thursday night; a cause was not announced.

An omnipresent fixture at basketball games at ...Read more

Q: I just read your column about Heaven, and loved it. I, too, believe our souls are reunited with those we have lost. My question is, when you said the concept of Heaven began in the rabbinic times, do we know what caused them to think this after never having believed in Heaven before? Thank you for your columns. I find them enjoyable and ...Read more

The public clash between Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich and Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki over whether U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin should receive a lifetime achievement award from the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Keep Hope Alive program has spilled into the public square with damaging effect.

What might have been an internal disagreement has ...Read more

BALTIMORE — As the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case enters its third year, there is still a gap worth hundreds of millions of dollars in court between the nation’s first diocese and the survivors of rampant sexual abuse throughout its parishes and schools.

That difference and a seeming lack of progress toward resolution, a judge...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The ambulance siren blared down the quiet residential street where a 4-year-old boy was dying.

When police and paramedics arrived at 1521 Latham St. in Colton, California, they had no clue they were entering the home of a secretive religious group that — years later — would land in the spotlight after two members were ...Read more

We are in a Heaven mode here at the God Squad and I can tell you absolutely that one of the most frequent questions I am asked by my dear Christian readers is whether Jews believe in Heaven. Here is an example:

Q: As an evangelical Christian, I am still puzzled: do Jews believe there is a physical Heaven, or not. I admit that I am most ...Read more

Every year I offer a brutally condensed version of my Jewish High Holiday sermon along with my wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all my readers, Jewish and not, because such wishes are needed by us all. Shana Tova!

One of the very best questions I ever heard was from a young Jewish woman. She asked this question, “Who will shelter us...Read more

Q: What if you have no family and few friends? And you're ill and in pain and only death will end it? And you'd rather leave what money you have to various charities then use it up paying for care that may prolong life but won't cure or even reduce pain, but keep one around increasingly unable to do self-care, etc.? – (From S)

A: ...Read more

On 9/11 I was the president of the New York Board of Rabbis, and because of my position I was asked to deliver one of the speeches at the 9/11 memorial service at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 24, 2001. I offer it up this year once again as a memorial to the dead and remembered ones but ...Read more

Q: I'm sincere in wishing we could sit down and talk about Heaven – it's SO much more than "the reward for righteous people.” Heaven is about RELATIONSHIP with God, just as this life is intended to be all about relationship with Him, and that connection positively impacting all our relationships, choices and behavior here. Besides that, ...Read more