by Jim Burklo
If Barack Obama asked me to endorse him, I’d have to excommunicate him for his own good.
That’s my conclusion after the messy consequences of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s association with Obama, and of Pastor John Hagee’s proclaimed support for John McCain. The gonzological utterances of these pastors have given all of us Christian clergy […]
by Jarrett McLaughlin
What makes the Bible such an interesting collection of writings is also what makes them so maddeningly frustrating at times. The fact that the Bible holds together so many different documents and different theological perspectives is precisely what makes it so timeless. At times, however, the more peculiar theological trajectories contained in these […]
by Robert K. Martin
A decisive moment in my shift to understanding church as a verb, as enacted, as an incarnational reality, occurred as we were tromping through the wilderness. Literally. In the middle of a North Carolina forest near Ashville, I had taken a group of divinity students on a wilderness adventure in which a […]
by Mona Eltahawy
The second real Muslim was elected to Congress last month.
I say “real” because Andre Carson, a Democrat who won a special election in Indiana to replace his grandmother who represented the state in Congress for 11 years until her death in December 2007, is not a closet or “stealth” Muslim as right wing […]
by Jim Burklo
Nothing is more effective at turning a person into a theologian than witnessing somebody else’s personal crisis.
Recently, I lost my job, or my job lost me. I’m still not sure which description is more accurate. In any case, it’s my first experience with unemployment. I’m blessed with very supportive family and friends (including […]
by Roy Howard
It used to be conventional wisdom to avoid religion and politics at gatherings of friends and family. Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible not to talk about them. I think that’s a good thing; after all, for people of faith their religious convictions, if they mean anything at all, certainly inform their political opinions. It’s […]
by Roy Howard
Merciful God of all people, we remember before you the people of Pakistan in the hour of their grief and the crisis of their nation. In this time, work with those who seek the peace of all people, that the leaders of Pakistan, along with other world leaders, would be instruments of wisdom […]
by Fred Weidmann,
Forgive me for dipping again into the waters of the Chronicle of Higher Education (see “Jesus’ Extreme Makeover: Breaking the Aggression Cycle,” posted on this blog on Oct. 17, 2007) for my subject. It is, frankly, a pleasure to observe that that weekly journal, often seemingly oblivious to church and church-related institutions, is […]
by David Bartlett
In my previous entry I shared some reflections on a friend and colleague who died over the summer—Brevard Childs. In this entry I want to reflect on the life and contributions of Letty Russell, another friend and colleague who also died a few months ago.
The obituaries on Letty all noted that she was […]
by Roy Howard
Raise your hand if you think the Church is obsessed with sex, and especially homosexuality. If you read the news reports with any regularity you might think there is absolutely nothing else worth discussing in the minds of church folks. Okay. I admit that’s a bit over the top; but not by far. […]
by David Bartlett
During this summer two of my friends and colleagues died. Each had made significant contributions to theological education and to the church. In some ways their theological commitments were strikingly different, but they shared a fierce devotion to the Bible and an unshakeable conviction that scripture still speaks to contemporary people. I want […]
by Wes Avram
We believe that everyone—political figure or commentator, citizen or alien, man or woman, black or white, conservative or radical—who at this particular time says that this people and this nation are in deep, perhaps irremediable political trouble, speaks the truth.
~ ~ Will D. Campbell and James Y. Holloway.
Some words come back with haunting […]
by Trevor Eppehimer
In a time in which the logic of the market carries over into religion as well as economics, religious leaders often feel pressure to tailor theology to meet the demands of the consumer-driven, spiritual marketplace. As a result, theological “hard truths” are often soft peddled, lest they adversely impact things like […]
by Susan Andrews
One of the new things in my life is books-on-tape, After the first four or five months of one and two hour drives – a necessary part of my new ministry as a presbytery executive - I decided I needed to figure out a way to stay alert. And so I went to […]