Word: worshipfully
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...paradox of miracles seems only to deepen. Certainly they occupy a strange place on the spiritual map of America. When Time asked in a poll last week whether people believe in miracles, 69% said yes; and the fastest-growing churches in America are the Charismatic and Pentecostal congregations whose worship revolves around "signs and wonders." Tens of thousands of people gather in a pasture in Georgia or a backyard in Lubbock, Texas, because of reports that the Virgin appears in the clouds...
While traditional churches treat miracles gingerly, it is surely no coincidence that the fastest-growing movement in Christendom places miracles squarely at the center of worship. The growth rate of the "postdenominational" churches--the Charismatics and Pentecostals--now surpasses that of the Southern Baptists. Loosely structured, informal, led by powerful "apostles," these churches reject rigid hierarchies and sedate theology. "People don't come to listen," explains Peter Wagner, a professor of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, "They come to do." The miracles take many forms: besides healing, there are members who have visions, or speak in tongues, or collapse...
More threatening are the groups that wish to restore the imperial cult. The writer Yukio Mishima collected around himself a band of uniformed young men who shared his passion to make the Japanese--the military forces in particular--once again worship the Emperor. His student followers ended up by worshipping Mishima, and one joined him in his samurai-style suicide in 1970. Even today there are groups of right-wing Emperor worshippers who go around assassinating those they regard as unpatriotic. The mayor of Nagasaki was shot by a right-wing extremist in 1990 after saying the late Emperor Hirohito...
...welcoming message, the United Ministry at Harvard & Radcliffe sends a pamphlet on religious life at Harvard to all incoming first-years. The Ministry encourages students to explore some of the 36 groups that it currently recognizes. Among them are a multiplicity of Christian organizations, Hillel for Jewish worship, the Baha'i Association, the Buddhist Community, a Humanist Chaplaincy, the religious Society of Friends, as well as Hindu and Zoroastrian associations...
...despite her admirable unwillingness to worship Tom Hanks, Ms. Rose finds it mystifying that Mr. Hanks would "waste his time" on an evening of "burlesque student theatre." It may surprise Ms. Rose to learn that thousands of people waste their time enjoying student theatre every year at the Pudding alone; and while, admittedly, these people are not all famous celebrities like Tom Hanks, they still count for something, don't they? It may also surprise Ms. Rose--though it surely wouldn't, had she half a clue about the way publicity works--that Mr. Hanks was more than happy...