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Heart of the matter: Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9
The vagaries of the calendar and the cycles of the moon bring in an early Lent and Easter this year, and so the transfiguration has come early too, cutting short the season of Sundays after Epiphany. Unexpectedly, we find ourselves back up on the mountain with Jesus. We were just there to hear him describing those who populate the kingdom of heaven. Now he returns, not with all the disciples this time, but only the insider troika of Peter, James and John.
The Gospel according to Anna: A story with many tellings
There is no such thing as The Gospel in the same way that there is no such thing as a circle....
Favorite poems
While I know no poem in the language greater than Gerard Manley Hopkins's "The Wreck of the Deutschland," and confess a supremely warm spot for Joyce Kilmer's cozy but forgotten "The 12:45," a favo...
A few good preachers
It has always been easy to romanticize a “golden age” of preaching. Clyde Fant contends that it’s always three generations ago....
Modern Peoplehood
Are old animosities to blame for the recent rise of religious and ethnic violence around the world?...
Transforming the Faiths of Our Fathers
Harvard Divinity School’s 2002 Religion in the Feminist Movement Conference drew overwhelming interest...
Four Souls
One of the rewards of reading Louise Erdrich’s fiction is that she takes us into a world few people know, that of the Ojibwe people, who follow traditional wa...
Room at the inn
In 1994 Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in Kigali, Rwanda, risked his life to help save more than 1,200 men, women and children from the ethnic cleansing that wiped out nearly 1 million Rwandans...
Crusader zeal
The leader of the Western world stands before his compatriots and outlines a...
Hands-on fathers: Admiration from a "bridge father"
Men my age are “bridge fathers.” We began being fathers in one era, and before the last child left the nest we realized that fatherly responsibilities and expectations had changed significantly....
Here's hoping: Mundane events can mirror the mysteries at the heart of faith
Red Sox fan George Sumner was on his deathbed last October, and things didn’t look too good for the Red Sox either....
Century Marks
Ticking time bombs: The vanquished of war, says war correspondent Chris Hedges, rarely speak about the horrors at the time....
Mentoring on the margins: A ministry to public schools
As a sixth grader, Hazel Gonzalez was constantly in trouble. A member of two gangs, she was in the principal’s office daily....
Lutherans to address issues of homosexuality: Recommendations due from sexuality studies task force
After nearly four years—some say 15 years—of discussion the largest U.S....
Americans United files court challenge on 'intelligent design' Suit against Dover, Pennsylvania, school board: Suit against Dover, Pennsylvania, school board
Two civil-liberties watchdog groups have filed the first known lawsuit to prevent public schools from teaching the theory of “intelligent design.” Critics of the theory, including supporters of evo...
Liberal faith leaders aim to be 'prophetic' D.C. strategy session in election aftermath: D.C. strategy session in election aftermath
Religious leaders who mounted an unsuccessful bid to resurrect progressive values in the 2004 elections are saying they refuse to yield the “moral high ground” to conservative Christians....
Muslim scholar quits Notre Dame position. Tariq Ramadan: Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan, a Muslim scholar whose visa was revoked days before he was to begin teaching at the University of Notre Dame, has given up further attempts to enter the country....
Alabama judge's robe displays Decalogue: Following in the footsteps of Justice Roy Moore
Following in the footsteps of deposed Alabama Supreme Court head Roy Moore, another judge in that state has raised controversy with a public tribute to the Ten Commandments—this time on his robe....
Black woman to lead AME seminary in Ohio: Leah Gaskin Fitchue at Payne Theological Seminary
In yet another first for female seminary executives, Leah Gaskin Fitchue has been inaugurated as the head of Payne Theological Seminary, making her the first African-American woman president of a s...