John Buchanan
Nonnegotiable
I used to sit on the front porch with my grandmother, otherwise the
gentlest, most unconditionally loving person in my young life, while
she regaled me with stories about what was going on under the dome of
the Roman Catholic cathedral one block away. They're storing guns in
the basement, Grandma assured me, and I imagined that the windows in
the dome were gunports through which "they" planned to fire on the rest
of the city.
A vote for Grant
Ulysses S. Grant never allowed alcohol to interfere with his responsibilities. His reputation as a corrupt, inadequate president is also wrong, or at least incomplete.
Time for poetry
When I am blessed with a little more leisure time than usual, I like to spend some of it with poetry.
Beautiful games: The World Cup
The rest of the world calls it “the beautiful game,” and for a month of World Cup soccer competition Americans get to see it on TV—the moments of explosive action and the constant...
The patriarch next door: Defining faith
In this issue, Krista Tippett recalls that as a teen she was eager to leave Oklahoma and a Southern Baptist grandfather who repre...
Sacrifices: The death of soldiers
After reading Walter Brueggemann’s review of Terry Eagleton’s Reason, Faith, and Revolution: <...
The flotilla tragedy: A critical moment
There is no excuse or justification for the flotilla incident in which Israeli commandos boarded six ships bearing humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza, sparking a violent confrontat...
A place to mourn: Grateful for the church
I was out of the country recently when a member of my congregation died. When this happens I feel the pain of being unable to do anything helpful, and a little guilt as well....
My church, Rachel's church: "Jesus means church for me"
Every spring when our church confirms members of our confirmation class, I reflect on my own experience of joining the church....
Rhetoric and rage: What is at stake
By all accounts, the crowd that gathered outside the temporary quarters of the Roman governor in Jerusalem on a Friday morning 2,000 years ago whipped itself, or was whipped by skilled political op...
Reading life: Great books
I ordered Garrison Keillor’s Life among the Lutherans as soon as I heard about it. Who could resist a title like that? Besides, in a way, it is a description of my life....
Work ethic: Fifty years of Salinger
I read The Catcher in the Rye when I was in college. J.D. Salinger’s book, published in 1951, has sold more than 65 million copies and still sells 250,000 a year....
A bad place to be sick: Health care myths debunked
Whenever talk turns to how dreadful health care is in countries where the government has a large role in it, I think back to a summer spent in Scotland....
Raised up: Christ goes with us
In time for Holy Week, this issue features David Cunningham’s essay on the destiny of the “other thief” who was on...
Entry points: A kingdom of peace, kindness and justice
I have read most of what Harvey Cox has written over the decades....
John, 'the Jews' and us: John's context and ours
A recurring challenge for preachers, teachers and readers of the Gospel of John is making sense of its references to “the Jews.” At Jesus’ sentencing Pilate goes “out to the...
I statements: A preacher's testimony
I regretted to see in the January 2 New York Times that Peter Steinfels was writing his final “Beliefs” column. I’ve rarely missed a Steinfels column over the years....
Sunday morning America: Time for civility and respect
Part of the continuing education for religious leaders of all types ought to involve occasional Sunday mornings spent not in church but observing the way that an increasing percentage of Americans ...
Compromise: In matters political and ecclesial
By the time this issue of the magazine is in your hands, the fate of health-care reform may have been decided by Congress....
Compelling characters: Zechariah's story
I’m not the only preacher who wonders occasionally about the logic of the Sunday lectionary readings. Why is this text included but not that one? I usually conclude that someone wiser than I is choosing these texts and that the logic of it will be revealed to me if I stay with the texts long enough.