Martin E. Marty
Motley crew: Graduate seminarians
Christian Tetzlaff, superstar young violinist, charmed our town last month by playing Bach’s six works for solo violin....
Jest divine: Typographical humor
Scholar Paula Fredriksen wrote provocatively on “Gods and the One God” in last February’s Bible Review....
Ask the vicar: Why to belong
Dear Chad: Your recent e-mail brought back rich memories of the long-ago days when you were my confirmand and I was your catechist....
Demon-possessed: A rallying cry
Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil,” wrote Eric Hoffer in The True Believer....
Can soldiers be saved? Luther's example: Luther's example
During the war against Iraq an interviewer asked me where I got some of the theological ideas that called more for repentance by “our side” than triumph over “them” and theirs....
Making a face: Countenances
Countenances have been much on my mind lately, thanks to the example of the Palo Alto, California, city council....
Cosmic colors: High-risk faith
Though liturgical colors for vestments, altars and pulpits are traditional, their color spectrum is not tamper-proof. It is time to take a fresh look at the choices....
Crime time: Embezzlers in the church
Suppose you wanted to do something big for the world mission of all Anglicans, independents, marginal Christians, Orthodox, Protestants and Roman Catholics....
Home cooking: Teaching and learning with new immigrants
Here are three recent headlines about a recent release of data by the Census Bureau:
...Glittering vices: A parlor game
The seven deadly sins got their name not from the Bible but from ancients of the church....
Bible disposal: Burning the book
Subscriber Sue R. Wilcox of Denver asked this columnist: “What do you do respectfully with old worn-out Bibles?” I respect her respect for the Bible and sympathize with her problem....
Name that park: The attachment-of-the-year
Comiskey Park in Chicago is being renamed U.S. Cellular Field. Announcement of this change vied for newspaper space with news of the Shuttle Challenger disaster....
Two for one? Spousal conpensation: Spousal conpensation
That the spouse of a college or university president almost always acts as a co-professional with the partner (especially when the spouse is a woman) is a situation that has for decades inspired qu...
Dreaded ‘d-’ words: Vocabulary of aging
In 1974 the University of Chicago Press informed me that it had received a manuscript on the rise of the Celtic church....
Fake IDs: Trent Lott's apology
Trent Lott is last year’s news, history, on the ash heap. The senator has been contrite, has repented, asked for forgiveness, done penance and publicly resolved henceforth to lead a godly life....
Grunge: Bad news on the fashion front
Bad news has hit the fashion front. No successors to designers like Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren are on the horizon....
Making merry: The world of the organ
"The rising of the sun / And the running of the deer, / The playing of the merry organ / Sweet singing in the choir” rings the chorus of “The Holly and the Ivy,” a favored carol of the season....
Riding high: Advent is the season for leveling and upsetting
The text for our meditation is Luke 3:3-5 (NRSV): “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, . ....
Into the niche: Targeted marketing
One of my classmates 50-plus years ago first taught me about niche marketing. A professor who monitored field work and internships wanted us to be modern....
Morphing Moses: Images of Santa
At George Washington’s home, the Mount Vernon Ladies Association is evidently taking lessons from TV advertisers, some megachurchers and others who act as if the whole citizenry were made up of 18-...