Latest Articles
James Ernest named editor in chief of Eerdmans: People
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has hired James Ernest as editor in chief....
The death penalty and the culture of death
Last week the Nebraska legislature abolished the state’s death penalty, overcoming the governor’s veto to do it. First Things editor Matthew Schmitz, writing in National Review, adds a salutary note of caution to the celebration that followed: viewing abolition as moral progress allows us to “overlook the countless cruelties of our criminal-justice system as we congratulate ourselves on the elimination of a relatively rare punishment.”
Mary’s resistance
We are used to the picture of the family of Jesus that we see at Christmas time: the brave, young Mary, ready for whatever God has in mind for her....
The Collected Sermons of Walter Brueggemann, Volume Two, by Walter Brueggemann
These sermons are organized according to the church year, with a handful prepared for milestones such as graduation or marriage....
Behind exodus of Rohingyas, a push from Myanmar
(The Christian Science Monitor) Fatima is on an emotional rollercoaster....
Israeli soldier’s ham sandwich nearly lands him in military prison
c. 2015 Religion News Service...
Faith leaders' summit calls for U.S. to fund abortions of raped women overseas
c. 2015 Religion News Service...
Stargazing
It would be dishonest to attempt to squeeze nonreligious scientists into the mold of conventional belief. Nevertheless, they do end up confronting profoundly theological questions.
New churches, old Europe
European churches are currently engaged in an architectural culture war. This is startling given how weak the churches themselves have become.
On Caitlyn Jenner, and pastoring a transgender person
The Internet is awash with reactions to Caitlyn Jenner’s photos in Vanity Fair magazine. Some thoughtful stuff, and plenty that’s predictably … less than thoughtful. I write this post with some trepidation, because there’s still much for me to learn, and I hope those who have walked this road will offer correction with a generous spirit, for it’s in that spirit that I write this.
What holds up Jefferson’s wall of separation?
Next to the First Amendment, then-President Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 has perhaps come to represent the most popular understanding of religious freedom in the collective mind of America. Because of Jefferson’s “wall of separation” metaphor, some would like the letter to pass back into the shadow of obscurity under which it rested prior to the 1947 Everson v. Board of Education decision. Others rejoice that the letter provides the lens through which religion itself is defined and applied in contemporary America.
Jefferson’s famous metaphor is important, but it is a star drawing into its orbit the comet of our short attention span.
Whose comprehensive morality?
Caitlyn Jenner is on the cover of Vanity Fair, people far and wide are admiring her, and social conservatives—even the heterodox ones, from Brendan O’Neill to Rod Dreher—are not impressed.
One liberalish counter-response does an admirable job of taking their concerns seriously, and it comes from an unexpected source—oh I’m just kidding, it’s obviously Damon Linker.
British Jews object to ultra-Orthodox sect’s decree banning women from driving
c. 2015 Religion News Service...
Supreme Court rules for Muslim job applicant
(The Christian Science Monitor) Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch lost at the U.S....
New report shows there are more Catholics, yet fewer receiving sacraments
c. 2015 Religion News Service...
Ordinary #11B (Mark 4:26-34)
I have come to realize how mysterious a thing a seed is.
Considering the heavens: Astronomer Guy Consolmagno
"Everybody thinks the church stopped supporting science with Galileo. That's a myth tied up in the politics of the 19th century."
Deconstructing patriarchy, one ritual at a time
I love weddings. I even like the parts pastors aren’t supposed to enjoy—the flowers, dresses, hair, and make-up....
When does a church (building) first feel strange?
The question is one my first boss liked to ask at staff meetings. It's important to say he was asking through the perspective of visitors. First-timers or travelers. Equally for people who would come to make the church their home and those who would never visit town again. For all of these, on a Sunday, when does a church first feel strange?"When you go up to communion," one of us offered one time.