Latest Articles
Can football produce righteous warriors?
Arthur Remillard sees the best of football’s warrior culture as a man training his body into subjection for the protection of the weak and the advancement of all righteous causes. And maybe it’s because I know so little about football, but I don’t see it. How does throwing a ball around a field protect the weak? How does sucking all the money from educational institutions advance righteous causes? How does making a touchdown make a man more righteous?
Spelling out your views for end-of-life care is a ‘spiritual’ act
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
‘Crown jewel’ of American printing fetches $14.2 million in record auction
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
The witness of sinners: Theologian Jennifer McBride on the nontriumphal church
"It is by being in solidarity with sinners that Jesus brings about reconciliation. This is not a picture of Jesus that churches often emphasize."
Christmas music, Advent words
I entered parish ministry with a fair amount of idealism, particularly liturgical idealism. Inconveniently, the liturgical proclivities I picked up in seminary were not especially popular with my first congregation.
This became clear as a sleigh bell during our first Advent season together.
Warrior culture and muscle men in the NFL
When this year’s NFL season opened, Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Richie Incognito was a “good guy.” At least that’s what the South Florida chapter of the Pro Football Writers Associat...
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: David Heim interviews theologian Jennifer McBride, Katherine Willis Pershey's pastoral response to the whole Advent vs. Christmas thing. more.
Sunday, December 8, 2013: Matthew 3:1-12
As associate pastor for evangelism, I work to welcome new people into a large urban congregation....
Supreme Court takes up contraceptive mandate, will rule on religious rights of corporations
c. 2013 Religion News Service...
National Cathedral will charge visitors
Facing a $26 million earthquake repair bill and years of persistent deficits, the iconic Washington National Cathedral will start charging visitors an admission price in 2014....
Pope hits capitalist zeal, asks rich to share wealth
Laying out a blueprint for the issues that are likely to define his papacy, Pope Francis has issued a biting critique of capitalism, calling on world leaders to fight against poverty and for the ri...
Why I need Advent
Come to the river, wash away your sins, start a new life. Now—because something is coming.
Erin Lane and Enuma Okoro: Talking Taboo
I’ve been interested in the idea of “taboos” for a long time—those intricate rules that overarch our society and ideas of the sacred. They can be tools to keep people from harming others or themselves. They can be used as social conditioning, arbitrarily enforcing certain behaviors as a means of control.
Taxes, clergy and the state
My church's neighbors down the street at the Freedom From Religion Foundation went next door to the Federal District Court and ...
Tuesday digest
New today from the Century: Why Suzanne Guthrie needs Advent, Carol Howard Merritt talks taboo with Erin Lane and Enuma Okoro, more.
Young adult fiction
The In-Between, by Barbara Stewart. When 14-year-old Eleanor Moss survives a terrible car accident, she gains entry into an in-between world inhabited by Madeline....