Betsy Childs Howard

If you observe Lent, do it with your Bible open. Continue Reading »

Kirsten Powers and Jonathan Merritt accuse Christians who refuse to provide goods and services for gay weddings of being hypocritical cherry pickers. Continue Reading »

While marriage and celibacy may technically be opposites, they have at least one thing in common. Both can seem overwhelming when one imagines them lasting for a lifetime. Continue Reading »

Whom can you trust in a room full of virtual criminals? Continue Reading »

An odd story came out of Spain this week. Or perhaps “odd” in the literal sense is the wrong word, for the story has an ironic symmetry. A 64-year-old man in the city of Jaén reported a home burglary. The victim, who happened to coach a youth soccer team, listed several electronic . . . . Continue Reading »

Some years ago, I taught a Sunday School class of third- and fourth-graders. One Sunday, they learned the story told in Luke 4 of Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth. We talked about how Jesus’ quotation of Isaiah 61—“the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me . . . ”—was an . . . . Continue Reading »

In “ I’m Not a Spinster Aunt, I’m a PANK ,” Allison P. Davis describes the newish phenomenon of “aunthood as a marketing opportunity.” PANK is an acronym for Professional Aunt, No Kids.  Marketers see the PANK as “the next key demographic” because of her . . . . Continue Reading »

While the Internet may be suffocating the world of print media, it has only enlivened the genre of the book review. In addition to the scores of websites posting book reviews daily, anyone with an Amazon password can share her opinion on a book with the waiting world. P.D. James wrote her . . . . Continue Reading »

I’m not one to say that a story I read on the Internet broke my heart, but the story of Davion Only did a number on me. The fifteen-year-old orphan was born in prison. He has circulated through foster homes and now lives in a group home. He learned that his mother was dead last June when he . . . . Continue Reading »

Martha Stewart is not happy with the blogosphere. Last week, in an interview with Bloomberg News she griped  Who are these bloggers? They’re not trained editors at Vogue magazine. I mean, there are bloggers writing recipes that aren’t tested, that aren’t necessarily very good, . . . . Continue Reading »