What Good is Prayer?

What Good is Prayer?

Peculiar People The "Thoughts and Prayers" Backlash Is Deserved by Cody Ray Shafer Prayer is tool for strength, wisdom, and discernment. Not a replacement for legislation or a solution.

Eidos The Role of Thoughts and Prayers After a Tragedy by John Mark N. Reynolds "Thoughts and prayers" are the only appropriate reactions when people don't know the specifics of a horrific event.

Rhetoric Race and Religion God Is Not Going to Stop Mass Shootings by Fredrick D. Robinson Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said it best: "To expect God to do everything while man does nothing is not faith but superstition."

Community by Deily Ohio Couple Says Prayer Made Infant Daughter's Brain Tumor Disappear by Deily Baby Paisley's brain tumor completely healed on its own, leaving even the doctors without explanation for its disappearance.

Book Club Befriending Silence: Discovering the Gifts of Cistercian Spirituality by Carl McColman An accessible and comprehensive guide that highlights a unique focus on simplicity, living close to the earth, and contemplative prayer, all of which make Cistercian spirituality relevant today.

Krampus, Hanukkah, and the World's Most Notorious Prison

altmuslim To Be Unknown or Forgotten: The Erasure of Guantanamo Bay Prisoners by Dr. Maha Hilal Beyond the myriad of negative tropes and dehumanizing social constructions lies a population that exists at the nexus of imperialism and Islamophobia.

Writing from the Edge Maccabees, Miracles, and Grandpa Boris: The Battle for the Soul of Hanukkah by Robert A. H. Cohen The first candle this year is lit on December 6. Cohen explains there's an interesting tension between the two aspects of Hanukkah celebration.

Raise the Horns Who Is Krampus? by Jason Mankey In many places in the world, fear of the Krampus is a very real thing.

Catholic News U.S. Senate Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood by CNA Daily News The Senate voted Thursday to pass a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, though the White House has said President Obama will veto the legislation.