Did enslaved people write the New Testament?

Palestinian Christians call on western churches to ‘humanize’ the children of Gaza
The Conversation: In a recent message for the first Sunday of Advent, the Rev. Munther Isaac, one of the foremost Palestinian Christian theologians, issued a letter pleading for the world to “humanize the children of Gaza, the children of Palestine.”

Why composers of any (or no) faith are drawn to sacred music*
The New York Times: Many Christmas standards were not written by Christians. David Lang explains the appeal for him, a Jewish composer of a modern holiday classic.

Meet the young women joining the ranks of Catholic nuns, a journey that can take up to ten years
The Associated Press: Less than 1% of nuns in the United States today are 30 or younger. That number has remained steady in the past decade but shows little signs of increasing.
The Associated Press: Takeaways from AP’s reporting on young nuns

Did enslaved people write the New Testament?*
The Christian Century: Candida Moss argues that when early Christian texts were written, unpaid laborers were in the room where it happened.

A Shiite and a Catholic find refuge — and friendship — at Baptist Seminary Shelter*
Christianity Today: From war to ceasefire, two Lebanese men bond during a traumatic three months.

Christian Olivet University loses its license to operate in California but says it will remain open
Religion News Service: Olivet blames its woes on a long-running feud with the owners of Newsweek, former members of a sect led by David Jang, a controversial Korean minister and founder of the college.

Oldest known stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments sells for over $5M
Associated Press: The tablet dates from 300 to 800 A.D. and is inscribed with the commandments in Paleo-Hebrew script — the only complete example of its kind from antiquity, according to Sotheby’s.

Churches are making room for grief and loss at Christmas
NPR: More and more clergy and congregations find a need to give voice to the less-than-joyful emotions people experience during the winter holidays.

Sure, “Paradise Lost” is radical, but did you know it was sexy?*
The New Yorker: A new study charts John Milton’s influence on revolutionary thinkers but misses the sheer seductiveness of his masterwork.

Why does religion journalism matter to democracy? Ask a Texas reporter
Sojourners: To report on abuse in the SBC, Robert Downen had to earn the trust of everyone from powerful, complementarian pastors to radical, queer exvangelicals.