(OPINION) It’s all untelling, this God thing. The whole weekend I had an inexpressible sense of God’s realness, God’s omnipresence, God’s utter majesty. God is a mystery. If you think you’ve got the answers … well, no, you don’t.
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(OPINION) As a historian of Christianity, I have studied how religion has been manipulated to bless empires. In the year 325, Constantine declared himself Christian and forged the Christian Empire. In 800, the Pope crowned Charlemagne, merging the power of church and state. During colonial expansion, Christianity was exported alongside conquest and commerce.
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(OPINION) I’m sure I am not the first person to think along these lines, but did you ever consider that you might not exist if certain things had happened or not happened?
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(OPINION) We are all curious to see how Pope Leo XIV will engage with the Trump administration. The Chicago Archdiocese’s upcoming celebration of the pope, an American-Peruvian dual citizen, stands in contrast to the military parade being hosted in Washington, D.C. on the same day. At the same time, the Catholic Church has seen empires rise and fall.
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(ANALYSIS) Houses of worship need social enterprise now more than ever. Churches, synagogues and other houses of worship are facing a dire situation. Up to 100,000 U.S. houses of worship may close over the next decade. The percentage of Americans belonging to a faith institution has plummeted from 70% to 47% over one generation with no sign of abating.
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(OPINION) Reading all about the decline of religion, I always find myself pondering the mystery of faith itself. Where does faith come from? Why do some people have it and others don’t? Why do some abandon it and others hold fast despite ill winds?
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(OPINION) If you are a conservative, Bible-believing Christian, there’s a lot to like about the Rev. Calvin Robinson. His behavior of the past few years has demonstrated both a sharp mind and an enormous gift for communication, but also an unseemly appetite for controversy and the limelight.
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(OPINION) From what I know about her, Guanyin is a-OK with my skeptical ways. I don’t believe in Greek, Egyptian or Hindu goddesses either, but I do appreciate the idea of a feminine divine archetype that suggests the deep-level empathy women may access from our oneness with our child in utero, literally holding the space for another within.
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(OPINION) Angry students threatening campus police. Students holding signs in the lobby of a classroom building. Which do you prefer? Which is the best?
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(OPINION) Colloquially, “mamzer” apparently can also refer to anybody regarded as strange or an outsider. That would be me. In that sense I’m definitely a mamzer. And maybe that’s you, too, if you’re of a certain bent. We’re those odd souls who see things differently than the crowd does, maybe because we’re always a healthy distance from it.
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It’s always nice to reconnect with Warren Maye, a long-time EPA board member who runs the communications operation for the Salvation Army. And every time I see him, I remember how — long ago — the Salvation Army changed the trajectory of my family.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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