Latest Articles
Doubting theology: A faith worthy of doubt
How do Christians understand their faith in light of insights gained from history, social science, natural science and other modes of inquiry?...
Doubting theology: James M. Gustafson replies
How do Christians understand their faith in light of insights gained from history, social science, natural science and other modes of inquiry?...
Bike paths: A sojourn in Portugal
Last summer, my big adventure was a bicycle trip through northern Portugal, where church bells still ring the hours and homeowners value grape arbors more highly than garages....
Friends like these: Friendship can mislead us
When the New York Times admitted that its reporting on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction came from unsupported allegations, it did so not on page one, where all the dire predictions about W...
Lights out: Churches closing
When Christians in one body instinctively mourn with the mourners in another, or rejoice with the rejoicers, we see the ecumenical spirit at work....
Doubting theology: Wisdom—divine and human
How do Christians understand their faith in light of insights gained from history, social science, natural science and other modes of inquiry?...
The Jericho affair: Luke 10:25-37
Imagine that Congress has set up a committee to report on the disquieting events on the Jerusalem-Jericho road and their aftermath. Here are some excerpts from its findings: “The Inquiry is satisfied that the priest acted in a thoroughly professional manner. We are aware that he is a man of high profile in Jerusalem society, and that his first priority is to conduct his temple duties in a proper manner. Getting involved in self-indulgent gestures of solidarity is not recommended: such projects are invariably underresourced, nonstrategic and open to media misinterpretation."
Jail break: Meditation as a subversive activity
A few years ago I had the opportunity to work for a semester as a chaplain at a Boston jail. My primary work was helping to lead a group of inmates in the practice of silent prayer....
Dog tales: Galatians 6:7-16
We were at the lake, my daily walking spot. I had brought a friend who needed to talk. Her head was down as if she were searching for meaning, hope and traces of God’s ways in the ruts of the muddy path. My head was down too, in silent solidarity. We walked. Suddenly I missed a familiar pitter-patter—my dog was nowhere to be seen.
Out in front
A good biography, expertly researched and finely crafted, conveys not just the trajectory of someone’s life but also a feeling for th...
Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad
What was life like for Kentucky slaves who lived so close to the Ohio River that they could see freed...
Edifice complex? Sublime architecture: Sublime architecture
Scripture assures us that “we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” But pastors and lay leaders end up spending a lot of time fussing with the church struc...
Changing the subject: Unity in the midst of strife
This is the season when church bodies convene and contend over the issue of homosexuality....
Century Marks
Jesus du jour: “Every era gets the Jesus it wants,” claims Susannah Heschel....
Overcompensation: CEOs and corporate greed
Ten years ago, even five years ago, the American market economy was the model for and the envy of the world....
Let's talk theology: How divided are United Methodists?
In 2001, representatives of the Confessing and the Good News movements and representatives of the Reconciling Ministries Network and the Clergy Alliance for a Professing Church came to DePauw Unive...
Shameful images stir painful reflections: Abu Ghraib
Vietnam veteran John Smathers and his wife, Judy, knelt at the altar rail at the Falls Church, a 272-year-old faith community at which George Washington once prayed, just outside the nation’s capit...