During the last few days, Psalm 109:8, a Bible verse in the form of a “prayer for Obama,” has topped the Google trends chart: “May his days be few; may another take his office.” Evidently, a bumper sticker emblazoned with…
This week, a friend sent me a link to a video from Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas titled “Taking the Hill.” I thought it might be a political video encouraging conservative Christians to go to Washington to lobby against…
ABC’s Nightline has been running a series on the Ten Commandments in which they explore the issues and dimensions of each commandment in contemporary society.
The series is interesting and, in many ways, inclusive.After all, the Ten Commandments form the ethical…
I was too young to remember President John F. Kennedy. My mother worked on his campaign and hauled her baby (me) along with her to pass out literature. She assures me that one of my first words was “k-e-n-d-y.” I…
“Progressive” has become the adjective of choice to describe faith communities with commitments to justice, serving the poor, and environmentalism. Yet, in the last couple of months, a number of faith leaders have pointed out that the term lacks clarity…
Wednesday morning, at 9 a.m. sharp, I took my tax payment to the local post office. When I handed it to the clerk, she said, “I hate tax day.” I replied, “Not me. I don’t love parting with the money,…
I’m surprised that the media and politicians don’t understand the difference between postpartisan and bipartisan. I wrote about the power of a prefix over at Progressive Revival and wanted to share the article with my readers at Sojourners:
I’m the guest host at the USA Today forum on Faith and Reason today. People can ask me questions about my research and what I’m thinking about now. I’ll haunt the site and answer stuff all day. My main topics are…
The Christmas Eve window hid a picture of the baby Jesus with his arms stretched out to embrace the world — a poignant reminder that ultimately this is a story of love, God’s love, and our response to that love…
As the days grow shorter, darker, and colder, our longing for the light intensifies. In these lengthened days of winter, the Advent calendar window opened to reveal Mary, the mother of Jesus, the one who carried light into the world.
I missed yesterday’s Advent reflection. Although I woke up early to write, I discovered that a winter cold was coming on, I rushed to help my daughter get ready for school, and I had to get to a meeting. In…
The 16th window on the cathedral revealed a gargoyle—not exactly a traditional Christmas picture! Gargoyles are ancient architectural features on buildings of monsters or ugly creatures that act as waterspouts to carry rain away from buildings. They are imagined to…
This morning, I found window 15 outside the church building on the stairs leading up to the cathedral door. Upon opening it, a picture of a smiling family greeted me—a father, mother, and two children.
The December 13 window opens to the fourth gospel—the eagle symbol of the evangelist John.
Since the Christian community’s earliest days, the eagle has represented John. The eagle is, of course, a creature of the sky, soaring above with a God’s…
Following on the theme of the last two windows, Dec. 12 on the Advent calendar opened to a picture of an ox with a book—the symbol of the gospel of Luke.
The ox, a strong and sturdy creature, represents work. Unlike…
Not surprisingly, when I opened the eleventh window, it revealed a picture of a lion holding a book—the ancient Christian symbol for Mark the evangelist.
Since the beginning of recorded history, lions have symbolized royalty in both society and in religion.…
