Maamoul: The Easter Sweet Loved by Muslims, Christians, and Jews
Christianity Today Magazine
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4h ago
Experts debate the origin of the date- or nut-filled pastry, but Middle Eastern believers love the taste and the Good Friday symbolism in its shapes. The Middle East’s favorite sweet symbolizes Good Friday. Maamoul is a buttery cookie baked with semolina and stuffed with dates or nuts—usually walnuts or pistachios. Seasoned with a variety of spices, for centuries it has flavored the Easter holiday for Christians, the end of Ramadan for Muslims, and Purim for the Sephardic Jews of Jerusalem. Three shapes are common: an elongated oval, a circular ring, and a rounded dome. Patterns are pressed i ..read more
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‘Christ Is King’ Is Not the Slogan Some White Nationalists Want It to Be
Christianity Today Magazine
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7h ago
Jesus’ lordship is not good news for those who want to use him to become kings themselves. This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here. If you’re one of the very-online white nationalists who decided during Holy Week to claim the hashtag “Christ is king” as an antisemitic troll, I’ve got what might seem to you to be both good news and bad news. The good news: Christ is king. The bad news: He’s a Jew. The even worse news: He’s not the kind of king you think he is. This week commentator Candace Owens, recently fired by The Daily Wire for anti-Jewish comments, mad ..read more
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Good Friday’s Answers to Wounded Church Members
Christianity Today Magazine
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7h ago
Christ’s crucified body holds the pain experienced by the church body. I serve as a priest in an Anglican church in Dallas, and I have the privilege and responsibility of pastoring many people who have experienced pain at the hands of a church. Some in our congregation have been outright abused. Some have had their faith shaken by the fall of a leader. Some have been pushed out of congregations for asking legitimate questions. And while church hurt may not always be the best term to name and collect all these different experiences, it is undeniable that many in my own congregation have suffer ..read more
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A Theologian’s Vision of ‘Peasant’ Politics Is Surprisingly Lordly in Scope
Christianity Today Magazine
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1d ago
Ephraim Radner’s “narrow” concern for protecting the mundane goods of earthly life isn’t so narrow after all. Around 15 years ago, as part of my first or second job out of college, I was sent to serve as the token young person at a lunch hosted by some boutique Washington think tank. The topic of conversation was the “good life” and how best to secure it in a rapidly changing world. Most attendees were in their twilight years, temperamentally and politically conservative, and, to my recollection, mildly appalled when I volunteered that many of my peers might not be convinced of the very premi ..read more
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A World Without Easter
Christianity Today Magazine
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1d ago
Everything is different because Jesus rose again. But do we live as if we understand he is alive? In the summer of 2022, I visited the charming Alpine town of Oberammergau, Germany. I wandered its leafy streets lined with mural-painted houses, their balconies overflowing with flower boxes. After indulging in ice cream and shopping for the town’s famed woodcarvings, I settled in my seat for a five-and-a-half-hour performance of Jesus’ final week on earth. Since 1634, Oberammergau has put on a Passion play involving almost all its residents, first staged in thanksgiving for the end of a bubonic ..read more
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The Story of Jesus Christ Is a True Myth
Christianity Today Magazine
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1d ago
Every year, we celebrate a dying and rising God who fulfills the hopes of ages past. If you’ve ever attended a liturgical church during Holy Week, you’ve likely recited the Apostles’ Creed—a confession that affirms the climactic events of Jesus’ life. At the heart of this confession, between the phrases “was crucified, died, and was buried” and “on the third day he rose again from the dead,” you’ll find the mysterious (and some might say pesky) phrase “he descended into Hell.” Although it’s largely overlooked in evangelical churches, dwarfed by the giants of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunda ..read more
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Shoes Stay On for Maundy Thursday
Christianity Today Magazine
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1d ago
Few Protestant traditions continue the footwashing that Jesus did at the Last Supper. Some want a revival of the practice. Americans get cold feet when it comes to footwashing, experts say. Maundy Thursday is a Holy Week service marking the Last Supper. In some faith traditions, that service has included footwashing from the example in John 13, where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet during the supper and says, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (v. 14). Accordi ..read more
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Died: Sandra Crouch, Gospel Artist Who Broke with Church to Get Ordained
Christianity Today Magazine
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2d ago
She won a Grammy for “We Sing Praises,” collaborated with her brother Andraé on “Jesus Is the Answer,” and worked with everyone from Billy Graham to Michael Jackson. Sandra Crouch, the twin sister and collaborator of gospel music legend Andraé Crouch, died earlier this month after an illness, her publicist said. Crouch, 81, who died on March 17, will be honored with a musical tribute and funeral at New Christ Memorial Church in San Fernando, California, set for April 16–17, according to an announcement. She died in a California hospital after having complications from treatment for a noncance ..read more
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Praying in the Shadow of Gethsemane
Christianity Today Magazine
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2d ago
What Jesus’ midnight prayer in the garden tells us about cosmic conflict in the supernatural realm. “Father, if it is your will, please heal your servant; yet not our will, but yours be done.” As a child, I recall hearing this kind of prayer and feeling deeply puzzled. If it is your will? I thought. Why wouldn’t it be God’s will to heal his servant? Such prayers are not theologically incorrect—they echo the words of Christ himself and, rightly understood, believers ought to pray likewise. But wrongly understood, such prayers can be deeply confusing and troubling. Imagine a young girl hearing ..read more
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The Steep Price of Pilate’s Fame
Christianity Today Magazine
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2d ago
Billions know the Roman governor’s name. But he didn’t know the very son of God standing before him. I’m in the apparently small category of men unconcerned with the Roman Empire. I could probably describe key events in the reigns of three to five of its rulers, but not much more. And when it comes to recalling this kind of detail, I suspect I’m not alone. All but a handful of these ancient leaders have vanished from the public imagination. They struggled, fought, murdered, and schemed their way to supremacy only to be forgotten. The same is true of American presidents, despite their greater ..read more
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