(OPINION) While public school Bible initiatives seem commendable, and we agree with recognizing the Bible’s value as an educational resource for teaching the moral, spiritual and historical context of Western civilization, we believe there’s a less controversial way to go about encouraging Bible teaching in our schools.
Read More(OPINION) The criticism of my preaching I’ve heard most across the decades is this: I don’t preach enough against wickedness. I’m too easy on reprobates. I don’t threaten rebels with hellfire. I’m soft on sin.
(OPINION) I was struck by how similar an Orthodox monk and Baptist preacher seemed, although they live on opposite sides of the planet, speak different languages and belong to vastly different traditions. They’re both holy men who’ve stayed faithful to their calling even as the world went off and left them, or maybe never much recognized them to begin with.
Read More(OPINION) There are many right ways to observe Holy Week and to walk with Jesus. I invite you to be intentional and make a plan for how you will observe the rest of Holy Week, each and every day.
Read More(OPINION) At a professor’s nudge, I first attended a conference in the early 2000s. I don’t remember what city it was in, or even the exact year. I do remember how awkward it felt. I stood shyly by myself — away from the religion reporters I admired so much — when I should have been networking.
Read More(OPINION) Every year at Passover, when Jews around the world recite the Four Questions, we begin by asking, “ma nishtana halaila hazeh me kol halaylot” — “what makes this night different from all others?” As we approach this year’s seders, I think that it’s also appropriate that we ask what makes this year different from all others.
Read More(OPINION) No one cares about the “mistakes” we make because 99.995% of people don’t notice, don’t care or care enough about us not to care about such minor flaws. The Japanese have a philosophy known as wabi-sabi, which emphasizes the beauty of imperfection. Among other things, this is expressed through the art of kintsugi.
Read More(OPINION) My plan for a long time was to fully retire by age 65 from both writing and preaching. But as is often the case, the world didn’t conform to my plans. Lately, considering my options anew, I realized I’m not ready to completely pull the plug on either of my two vocations.
Read More(OPINION) Where does sacrificing end and enabling the irresponsible begin? Isn’t it possible that by endlessly serving we’ll just burn ourselves out? These are legitimate questions. But living that Jesus kind of life is hard. It’s risky. It can be deeply frustrating. It requires more faith than I possess.
Read MoreAs I take stock this year, I feel a foreboding of apocalypse. Maybe my own apocalypse, or maybe this country’s, or maybe the world’s. Things are falling apart. The center cannot hold. You can choose to think of all this bad news as great news, in a counterintuitive way.
Read More(OPINION) The international conversation about Gaza has long circled the same grim question: What would it take for the population to rise up against Hamas? We just might have the beginnings of a response: The resumption of war, after Israel broke a two-month ceasefire following 15 months of devastating conflict. The prospect of more death with no end date, all because Hamas refuses to free more hostages until Israel agrees to leave it in power as part of a more permanent truce, appears to be too much to bear.
Read More(OPINION) All humanity is royally screwed up. As a result, your family is screwed up. Likely, you are screwed up, too, and your family may have contributed to that screwed-upness. But your ancestry doesn’t have to define your destiny. With God’s help, you can break the cycle of dysfunction, no matter how far back it goes.
Read More(OPINION) “Poor wordy little Protestants” — as someone once said — have severed this connection between the church and its visual soul food. Bereft of beauty, Protestant churches have left us to the narcotizing effect of TV and social media, and a daily diet of pap, propaganda and rage. Could new generations and populations be inspired again to aspire to the heights to which those early artists aspired? If so, we'll surely need to get out more.
Read More(OPINION) As we prepare this Lenten season, let us walk through whatever wilderness we travel, knowing that Jesus walks with us, sure that he knows the wilderness far better than we, and knowing that, stays by our side.
Read More(OPINION) My counselor and I never did agree about whether I was mad at God, but our ongoing discussions forced me to ponder anger as a principle — anger toward the Lord, anger toward difficult circumstances and anger toward my fellow pilgrims. Here’s what I think today.
Read More(OPINION) In recent weeks, the plight of a group of Iranian asylum-seekers claiming to be converts to Christianity has been followed by The New York Times, helping to shine a light on a story not commonly reported by the mainstream media. The story, that is, of Iranian Christians who for years have found it harder and harder to find anyone willing to accept them.
Read More(OPINION) Mainly, the people who’ve become devoted to their faith did so along a winding path. Some had been to jail. Some were atheists. Some grew up in church, rejected it in their youth, veered out into the wider world for years and then reluctantly found their way back. Some hated organized religion.
Read More(OPINION) Marty died on Feb. 25 at the age of 97, a quarter of a century after retiring from teaching at the University of Chicago Divinity School. The research center he launched in 1979 was then rebranded as the Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion. He received numerous other awards, including more than 80 honorary degrees.
Read More(OPINION) The unprecedented success of the radical-right AfD has left many questioning whether we are witnessing Germany take a dangerous turn once again. In the Feb. 23 Bundestag election, the AfD achieved its best result to date, becoming the second strongest party in the Bundestag. The election campaign was largely dominated by key AfD topics such as migration policy and the deportation debate.
Read More(OPINION) Suffering indeed is our common language. Regardless of your age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, politics or marital status, every person reading this column has suffered. If somehow you haven’t yet, you will. This may be the greatest impediment to believing in a loving, all-powerful God.
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