by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Jul 9, 2015 | Fostering Faith, Raising Christian Kids
In mid-May the Pew Research Center released the finding from its 2014 Religious Landscape Study. The results themselves were not surprising: fewer Americans are identifying with religious groups, particularly Christianity and the “nones” (that is, people with no...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Jun 19, 2015 | Fostering Faith
Itching ears is an old expression, denoting the desire to hear what we want to hear, to hear ethical and practical teachings that suit us, that affirm our goals, desires, and lifestyles. It comes from a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to a young pastor, Timothy, nearly...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Apr 13, 2015 | Fostering Faith, The Christian Imagination
During the Easter season, Christians have traditionally greeted each other with the words “Christ is risen!,” to which the faithful reply, “He is risen, indeed!” The tradition is seldom practiced in North America or Australia anymore, apart from the opening of the...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Jan 8, 2015 | Fostering Faith
It is the dead of winter in Indiana, and South Bend last week set a new record for the most snow in a 24-hour period. I shoveled our front sidewalks after it stopped and the snow was at the middle of my thigh. While such shoveling can be rough, the dead of winter is...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Oct 30, 2014 | Fostering Faith
In the United States the end of October brings with it Halloween. In our neighborhood, the children will come pouring out-of-doors on what promises to be a cold autumn night to go from house to house begging candy. For many children it is a chance to indulge in the...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Feb 6, 2014 | Fostering Faith
I have a confession to make: I am deeply afraid of the chaos that lingers at our doorstep, the chaos that rips into our mundane lives, forever marking a particular moment. It is the moment of the cancer diagnosis, the car accident, the death of an infant. The moment...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Oct 31, 2013 | Fostering Faith
If you type this question into Google, the first hit—“gotquestions.org”—says that the answer is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Aug 29, 2013 | Fostering Faith
“Moralistic-therapeutic deism” is the phrase University of Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith uses to describe the religious beliefs of North American teenagers. It is the belief that God wants people to be good, play nice, feel happy and go to heaven when they...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Oct 29, 2012 | Fostering Faith
Unless you live in a cave, you are probably well aware that the US elections are on next Tuesday, which means that we should have some relief from US politics by late next week. Due to the US’s international position both militarily and economically, I’m not terribly...
by Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes | Jul 11, 2012 | Fostering Faith, Raising Christian Kids
Thinking of getting circumcised? Probably not….but how about getting your baby circumcised? A recent court decision may be relevant. A German court in Cologne ruled that circumcising boys is “grievous bodily harm” and should not be performed on a child until he...
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