Latest Articles
Yoga is unchristian, says Baptist leader
Terming the popular and growing practice of yoga "a symptom of our postmodern spiritual confusion"—a confusion that "to our shame . . ....
The indifferent majority
So most Jews know where Jesus was born, even though few Christians know
much about Buddhism. Jesus makes the cover of one general-interest
magazine or another ever month or so, and it only takes a couple
shopping trips between Thanksgiving and New Year's to accidentally
memorize the words to "O Little Town of Bethlehem."
Following the Eddie Long story
As yet another megachurch pastor grabs national headlines for alleged sexual indiscretions, I’m tempted to skip the story entirely....
A review of Things Seen and Unseen
Cunningham has been keeping notebooks for many years that contain quotes, anecdotes and other snippets from his reading and some of his own theological reflections that he hoped might someday find ...
Rabbi warns of 'new intifada' as Palestinian-settler tensions rise
Jerusalem, 27 September (ENI)--Hours after a freeze on West Bank Israeli settlement construction expired, bulldozers moved into an area close to Revava, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, ...
The wrong way to protest
It's easy—from the comfort of my desk, where I’m healthy, well fed and securely employed—to experience a sense of "enough," as I wrote last week. It’s easy to champion compassion, justice and peace (what's not to like?), even when it puts me at odds with a few biblical texts.
This is an "urgent message"?
Last week, the Catholic
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis endorsed the Republican candidate for...
Having kids in seminary: The ethics of choice
I’m going to
try to devote some of my limited blogging time to the experience of...
A review of Contact!
Wouldn't it be great if one of the world's best travel writers, after
60 years and fortysome books, went back through her work and notes and
plucked out hundreds of haunting, revelatory, shimmering moments— brief
encounters that "have been sparks of my work," she might say, "if often
only in glimpses—a sighting through a window, a gentle snatch of sound,
the touch of a hand . . . fleeting contacts [that] have fuelled my
travels down the years, generated my motors, excited my laughter and
summoned my sympathies."
Sunday, October 10, 2010: 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19
The lepers all received healing. What a happy shock that must've been! But only one, a Samaritan, returned and thanked Jesus.
A social media blackout
Last week, students at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
in Pennsylvania gave up instant messaging, Facebook and Twitter—not by
choice but by Provost Eric Darr’s order.
Spiritual presence
What must it have been like to encounter the earthly Jesus, to meet him
as he went about his ministry? When the gospels attempt to share
something of this with us, they are no doubt hindered by the
impossibility of rendering such an experience in words. But a common
refrain in the gospels describes Jesus as "speaking with authority."
Colbert's testimony
When the United Farm Workers announced their “Take Our Jobs”
campaign this summer, I put it in my “maybe blog about this” folder and
never came back to it. It’s a clever idea—legal residents are invited
to replace migrant farm workers in the field—but the news media didn’t write a whole lot about it then, either. They are today.
A review of More Perfect Unions
Eighty years ago marital counseling was a brand new profession. Today millions of married couples and 40 percent of all engaged couples
receive counseling.
Hawking’s rejection of God unpersuasive, say faith leaders
Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders have all rejected claims that belief in the divine has been disproved by British physicist Stephen Hawking, who recently asserted that science leaves no role fo...
On the road
So much seems possible when we are traveling. We encounter new people and get to know familiar people in new ways as we share meals, chores and adventures.
The absence of God
The Bible affirms God’s presence. “My presence will go with you,
and I will give you rest.” (Ex. 33:14) The Bible also names God Deus Absconditus,
the Hidden God (Is. 45:15). We hold both in tension.
Real reform, today
During the health-care reform debate, those who opposed the reform bill talked a lot about how it was impossible to understand, how it wouldn’t do anything tangible for ordinary Americans and...