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Anybody remember the post-Super Bowl interview with New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree? That was the man who, just after making that amazing catch with his helmet and hands allowing the Giants to win the Super Bowl, thanked God on national television just for the chance to be out there.
The story starts in a church, with a minister trying to figure out how to step into the pulpit and tell his congregation about a great, and seemingly senseless, tragedy in the congregation. Four people were dead and the worshippers were going to ask, “Why?”
Shira Schoenberg of the Concord Monitor wrote an interesting story about a Jewish Orthodox politician. Or at least her story was interesting, fascinating even, about the ritual and personal aspects of Jason Bedrick’s faith.
As regular GetReligion readers know, in my day job I am the director of the Washington Journalism Center, which is one of the semester-length student programs associated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. One of the schools that has been most active in our journalism-education work here has been Union University in Jackson, Tenn.
I’m back in this forum, at the request of tmatt, just long enough to kick off a retrospective celebration of GetReligion’s fourth anniversary. Terry has asked us all to list the five favorite posts we’ve written in this site’s history, so cue John Coltrane.
Yesterday I highlighted some of the thoughtful and interesting media coverage of the death of Gordon Hinckley, the president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Commenters began discussing whether it was a lock that the next president would be the most senior (in terms of experience) church leader.
Gordon Hinckley, the prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died Sunday at his home in Salt Lake City. News of his death was carried on most media outlets. I thought most media outlets did a great job conveying Hinckley’s importance to the church.
The January/February issue of Psychology Today features a 5,000 word story, ostensibly on clergymen who lose their faith. While you have to get a copy of the dead tree version to read the whole thing, you can read the first few hundred words here. Having just finished writing a history of atheism for another magazine, I was excited to read the piece.
Stephanie Simon of The Los Angeles Times scored a coup: She interviewed young evangelicals who left their previous lives to live as monastics. Her story was rich with detail and nuance. But I wonder if she missed a major story.Simon introduced readers to five young adults, plus their children, who left their comfortable suburban homes for a spartan, communal one. As you may imagine, Simon described in great detail the travails and triumphs of such a radical life change. Here is how she depicted the decision by one of the families, the Porrett’s, to leave the house:
