Latest Articles
Sisters: Good hearts, good works
Reading the obituaries of Sister Mary Luke Tobin, who recently died at 98, inspired reminiscences of her and other women religious....
Woman bishop ready for top Episcopal post: Reconciliation and youth engagement are key goals
At a ceremony filled with pomp and tradition, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will become the first woman in Anglicanism's nearly 520-year history to lead a national church when she is installed a...
Another commandment: Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34
I read this week’s lectionary passages last summer in the Urubamba Valley in my native Peru, and in my native Spanish: “Pero Cristo ya vino, y ahora el es el Sumo sacerdote . . .” At first I resisted the Hebrews passage, as I prefer Jesus’ concrete teachings to more abstract theological concepts. So, while leading a tour group across the Andes, I turned to Mark: “And man must love God with all his heart and with all his mind and with all his strength; and he must love his neighbor as he loves himself.”
American idol: David Barton's dream of a Christian nation
David Barton, a chief advocate for a Christian America, is a bad historian. When he thunders, "We have lost our understanding of the Founders' intent and teachings. . . . We have been robbed," he is partially right: the founders were at least loosely Christian. But it is historically absurd to dismiss the separation of church and state as a myth.
Small change (Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44)
I remember seeing Helena, a widow, unfolding a $20 bill to put in the offering plate. I knew that her family was selling its possessions to pay the ransom for her only son, imprisoned by guerrillas.
Exposing Zacchaeus
Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminded us that grace is free but not cheap, gratis but not banal, gratuitous but not superfluous....
Extremists
In creating the character of 18-year-old Ahmad Mulloy, John Updike has imagined what some of us fear most—a homegrown terrorist....
Sound alternatives
Gracing the cover of Paul Simon’s album Surprise (Warner Brothers) is an image of a wide-eyed infant....
Jesus boot camp
I made a weekend visit to an Amish community in northern Indiana just days after the funerals of the Amish schoolgirls shot in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse....
Tinseltown exposé
Television cemented stardom in the 1950s for many celebrities of radio, vaudeville and motion pictures—Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, even Alfred Hitchcock....
The Word That Redescribes the World: The Bible and Discipleship
What is the underlying cultural script or metanarrative that guides the values and lives of 21st-century North Ame...
Autumn lament: The liturgical calendar and the baseball calendar
For those of us who measure time not only by the liturgical calendar but by the baseball season, fall is a time to reflect on what happened or did not happen....
Making amends: A forum for dialogue and resolving conflicts
A slip of the tongue or an off-the-cuff remark is one thing; words used in a carefully prepared speech to a university audience are another....
Century Marks
Take this to court: People who think the Ten Commandments should be displayed in public places have a new option: having them tattooed on their arms or other visible places on their bodies. Check out the religious tattoos at www.religioustattoos.net.
Infallible preachers: The mullahs in Pakistan
Mullahs in the corner of Pakistan where I live tend to be brilliant orators. They usually speak extemporaneously for an hour before Friday prayers. They can be persuasive, humorous, conciliatory, prayerful or bellicose. Frequently they break into song or weep for the sins of their tribe, and they hold their audiences spellbound, displaying a masterful use of repartee and the timing of a stand-up comic. They can move listeners from tears to laughter in the time it takes you to fold your turban.
Kerry belatedly speaks of faith: Joins other Democrats in describing impact on political visions
John Kerry, reticent about his religious beliefs during his losing 2004 presidential campaign against George W....
Calvin Seminary's first female professor quits, charging bias: Calls her experience a nightmare
Six years after her groundbreaking appointment, the first full-time female professor at Calvin Theological Seminary has resigned, alleging sex discrimination at the Christian Reformed Church school...
California Episcopal church defies IRS: Takes stand to defend freedom of pulpits
After consultation with the congregation, clergy and legal counsel, the governing board of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, on September 21 voted unanimously (26-0) “to challeng...