This undated photo provided by Bill Richard shows his son, Martin Richard, in Boston. Martin Richard, 8, was among the at least three people killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP - AP)

The biblical prophet Isaiah had a vision of peace: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)

While critics of the Vatican’s handling of the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal have breathed a sigh of relief at the news of Pope Benedict’s resignation and many hope that a changing of the guard will mean a change in the handling of current and past sex crimes, we must stop to consider who exactly will be selecting the next pope. As Mary Caplan, a leader in the Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), noted, “We’d all like to think there could be a transformation in the church now, but we have to face the reality that the same men responsible for protecting our abusers are going to be the ones casting the ballots.”

As you probably noticed the History Channel’s epic mini-series “The Bible” trended big after its premier. The fact that one of Hollywood’s power couples Mark Burnett and Roma Downey produced this series is a witness that “The Bible” still continues to be a world-changer. My wife and I were part of the diverse leadership that has been fully-committed to promoting this production. Along with leaders and organizations like Luis Palau, Leith Anderson, Focus on The Family, World Evangelical Alliance, and T.D. Jakes we thought this was a project worth backing. I was part of an informal committee that got behind the project and agreed to talk about why I . My wife and I have traveled with Mark and Roma and helped promote it to thousands of Latino Evangelical congregations across the country. The question is, “why?”

Many atheists, myself included, are offended by what we view as unwarranted antagonism toward atheists. I’ve participated in a number of debates on topics like “Can we be moral without a belief in God?” In these debates, I try to change stereotypical opinions that atheists are inherently immoral and untrustworthy. It’s sad that debates like this even take place in the twenty-first century. It would be unthinkable to see a debate in this country on “Can a Jew be moral?” or “Can a Catholic be moral?”

March is Women’s History Month, and this year’s celebration of the historic and contemporary contributions of women in this country got off to quite a kick-start with Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor making their presence felt during arguments on a challenge to the Voting Rights Act, currently in front of the Supreme Court.