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God is love: This is no joke
We use flippancy and
irony to shield ourselves from feeling. We relegate love to the
realm of the romantic and sentimental, and dismiss it.
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair and The Reading Promise
Reading is an act of "absorbed
alertness," says Ursula Le Guin. Two reading memoirs record two distinct experiences of such absorption.
Due diligence: A lawyer’s journey to church
I've always been drawn to people like Larry. Whether they realize it or not, they are searching for a mainline church that makes sense in their brains and a difference in their lives.
Sunday, November 6, 2011: Matthew 25:1-13
God grants astonishing freedom to creatures who bear the imago dei. The Arab Spring is only the latest evidence of the human desire for freedom....
Muslims call for reforms 10 years after Patriot Act
(RNS) A Muslim civil rights group is accusing the FBI and other federal agencies of “bad policing” and flaunting the Constitution in a 56-page report released to mark the 10th anniversa...
The pastor as writer
After a couple of years of sweating over each syllable, I suddenly needed the words. I hungered to write them. On vacations, my family urged me to take a break and I
became cranky. What happened? How did the words begin to grow like wildflowers
that I no longer had to coddle?
What's the gospel in seven words?
Got your own summation of the gospel in seven words or fewer? Add it as a comment to this post.
Take the money and run? When Hollywood came calling: When Hollywood came calling
According to my understanding of congregational polity, a pastor has the authority to turn down money. But not this much money.
Shifting course, St. Paul’s orders protesters out
LONDON (RNS) More than a week after welcoming anti-corporate protesters onto its grounds, London’s historic St....
Muslim mortgages in limbo after bank collapse
TORONTO (RNS) The collapse of a lender that offered Shariah-compliant mortgages has left Muslim homeowners in the Toronto area with many questions and so far, few answers.
...
Vatican blasts `idolatry' of global markets
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Blaming the world's economic and financial crisis on an “economic liberalism that spurns rules and controls,” the Vatican on Monday (Oct....
Are we hearing God's voice?
The passage from Micah raises some important theological questions related to God's revelation. Micah is clear that focusing solely on our well-being and declaring war on the poor will lead to a cessation of revelation and vision.
The birds made nest in its branches
I shared today in church a few of parables from Matthew 13: mustard seed, yeast, treasure, pearl. I tried to just tell them as stories: very little editorial commentary or explanation, just the stories.
Left Behind and Loving It, by D. Mark Davis
Presbyterian pastor Mark Davis offers deft and humorous biblical and theological readings of "Left Behind Theology" that speak to the anxiety at work in the culture shaped by apocalypic texts....
Grieving together
When I became a student pastor I had no idea what I
was getting into.
The first thing that happened after we moved into the tiny parsonage was that Johnny Johnson
died.
St. Paul's Cathedral closes, asks protesters to leave
London, October 21 (ENInews)--Due to health, safety and fire concerns connected with an anti-corporate protest camp at its doors, St....
In Philippines, native wisdom enhances Christian spirituality
Baguio City, Philippines, October 21 (ENInews)--Indigenous spirituality is enhancing Christian tradition in some Philippine churches as they retrace the local context of their faith....