Michele Bachmann's frontrunner moment may be past. But she has shown how the Republicans can win in the restless small towns of the swing-state Midwest.
In 1983, Kenneth Mitchell and Herbert Anderson wrote that "death is only one form of loss." This would have been unthinkable for Christians half a century earlier.
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.
When news came out that Obama would get to
approve or block a pipeline linking Texas
refineries to the tar sands of Alberta, it was clear that it was time for
more than words.
Mormons are in the familiar situation of being on the
defensive theologically and politically. But they are also
in terra incognita: they are viewed as
leading the way in preserving family values.
"It doesn't happen every day," says Kevin J. Long of Orchard Park Presbyterian Church in suburban Indianapolis. "But it is thrilling to see someone begin to grasp the good news of Jesus Christ."
Christians think differently about friendship. Our understanding is rooted in a God who never writes us out of the story of divine love—whatever our failings.
On a journey through North America, my wife and I
attended many churches. At one the pastor insisted repeatedly that "the meaning and purpose of life is to have a
personal relationship with Jesus." The claim irked me.
I want
to arrive at the kind of equilibrium admired by the
disciples who broke down the barrier to St. Anthony's fortress. To do this, I have to befriend the demons dwelling in the cave of my heart.
If we got all these spiritual-not-religious people together, they might find out that most of America agrees with them. But getting them together would be way too much like church.
The opportunity arose for our church to host a group of homeless people. We anticipated that people might threaten to leave if we went through with it. We weren't prepared, however, for the newly baptized Kathryn.
Do people join a church because they share its members' beliefs? This has become the putative
ideal, the only pure motivation for church affiliation. But I have seldom heard it voiced at our new members' class.
In the midst of today's rancorous politics and the
trivialization of religion in the public square, the death of Mark O. Hatfield calls to mind a different kind of political style and a different
kind of Christian witness.
The new English
translation of the Roman Catholic Order of Mass, mandated by the Vatican
to be inaugurated this Advent, wounds not only many of my Catholic
friends but also me.