The U.S. Congress, which convened Friday, Jan. 3, for its 119th session, had marginally fewer Christians than it did in the previous session (2023-25), continuing a gradual, 10-year decline. Christians make up 87 percent of voting members in the Senate and House of Representatives, combined, in the 2025-27 congressional session. That’s down from 88 percent in the last session and 92
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Editor’s Note: Former President Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29 at age 100. The official state funeral will be held Thursday, Jan. 9, at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. President Biden has declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning. By Jay Moore To err is human, and I am human through and through. In the past, I erred in
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Peaceful conversations–and how to have them–will be the topic of the January meeting of the Abilene Interfaith Council. The public is invited to the meeting, which will begin at 12 noon Jan. 16 at the Community Foundation of Abilene, 850 N. 1st St. A sandwich lunch will be provided for free. Dr. Dan Stiver, former professor at Logsdon Seminary and
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury “Spell Check” — first thought to be a handy computer feature to help us use the correct letters in the proper order for word formation–often goes haywire. Like oft-discussed Artificial Intelligence (AI is the abbreviation, despite my thinking it to be short for “Alfred” in the early going), it can be dead wrong, redden
Read moreBy Danny Minton It was December 23, 1962, and my dad and I had just watched the Dallas Texans and Houston Oilers come to a 17-17 stalemate at the end of four quarters of the AFC championship game. Houston had been down 17-0 at the half and came back with 17 second-half points to tie. There was a very strong
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By Jim Nichols Most of us are occasionally impressed by what we sense is a true act of creativity. A Brahms symphony arose spontaneously from the mind of Brahms. Something or some idea that did not exist previously now blossoms. I have no doubt that true creativity does occur, but I suspect that much of what we deem as creativity
Read moreBy Marianne Wood On an early morning flight, I caught this view outside my window. It made me wonder, why do we–God’s creation–spend so much time and effort celebrating the underside of the comfy-looking celestial bed of clouds? And how might we motivate ourselves to look above it more? The answer always seems to be that navel-gazing is normal and
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Greater Abilene Minister’s Alliance will host this year’s Watch Night service at New Fellowship Baptist Church, 1142 Tracy Lynn St. The service will be held 10 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, Dec. 31. Rev. Matthew M. Lublin Sr., pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, will preach. The service also will include music and a time for testimonials. Watch Night is a tradition
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By Loretta Fulton Each December, members of Religion News Association, including Spirit of Abilene creator and editor Loretta Fulton, vote on the top religion stories of the year. Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza was selected as the top religion story of 2024. The re-election of Donald Trump, with strong support from Latino and white evangelicals, came in second.
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Spirit Of Abilene 