Latest Articles
Faithful Dalits: Christians and caste
Eighty percent of the Lutherans in India are women, and 80 percent are Dalits--the caste at the lowest rung of the social ladder.
Pakistani minister denies release of Christian blasphemy accused
Thrissur, India, November 22 (ENInews)--There is confusion about the fate of a
Christian woman sentenced to death under Pakistan's draconian blasphemy law...
Do religious people make easy targets for scams?
(RNS) Convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff bilked billions of dollars out of thousands of fellow Jews, including charities like the Elie Wiesel Foundation and Steven Spielberg Wunderkinder Founda...
Fearing and not fearing
Working with this week's apocalyptic Gospel text evokes memories of childhood experiences and teachings in a Mennonite congregation with a fundamentalist understanding of Bible and life. Within that setting, however, my family was solidly Anabaptist in outlook and rooted in social justice concerns. My public school was, for a community in the middle of rural Illinois, a virtual hotbed of ecumenicity, with all the major and many of the minor denominations represented. All this made for some interesting tensions, especially in a family with an ethos of discernment rather than rules.
The worst times?
I am moved again by something dredged up from an old sermon:
the tomb-marker of Sir Robert Shirley, a baronet "whose singular praise it is
to have done the best things in the worst times, and to have hoped them in the
most calamitous."
Is there anything to add?
I am having trouble preaching on the Thanksgiving RCL texts because they seem self-evident, deep, rich, and wonderful. What on earth could I add to them?...
Thanksgiving theologies
The Thanksgiving holiday is a terrific time to talk theology. But
some theologies make more sense when offering thanks to our loving Lord....
Gratitude and anxiety
Giving thanks is a fundamental act of faith. The Psalms are filled with
calls the give thanks and offer thanksgiving. "O Give thanks to the...
Unseen realities
John Polkinghorne remembers the day when some of his colleagues thought he had lost his mind....
The case for prosperity
These days, Elmer Gantry is a familiar spiritual type around the world. The good news is that the prosperity gospel’s excesses are nothing like the whole story.
Vatican says new guidelines will combat global abuse scandal
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican announced on Friday (Nov. 19) that it
is preparing international guidelines to prevent the sexual abuse of...
Canadian court rules dissident churches must abandon property
TORONTO (RNS/ENInews) An Canadian appeals court has ruled in favor
of an Anglican diocese in a property dispute with congregations opposed
to same-gender blessings.
...
New rules on hospital visitations for gays and lesbians
(RNS) The Department of Health and Human Services unveiled
regulations on Wednesday (Nov. 17) that will require hospitals that...
Marriage fades, but not for lack of couples
(RNS) The headline's a shocker: Nearly four in 10 Americans believe
marriage is obsolete. As in: Over and done with, hold the rice. Holy...
Thanksgiving's a holiday atheists can believe in
c. 2010 Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Ken Guthrie and his partner will be at his aunt's
house for Thanksgiving, sharing a table with his grandmother, siblings...
What’s a leader to do about money at church?
Leadership at its best is about being present with
those we lead and being less reactive to the inevitable ups and downs...
Just in time for Reign of Christ Sunday
Has the lion been considering lying down with the lamb in Washington DC? If so I missed it--but this seems to be the assumption behind a couple recent commentaries....
A review of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism
McColman, a lay associate of the Cistercian Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia, knows you can be a mystic without being a Christian and a Christian without being a mystic....