Category: Uncategorized
In Defense of Snake Handling
The Rev. Mark Wolford, a popular snake-handling, Pentecostal minister, has died. The cause of death was a rattlesnake bite. A little bit of basic background: Snake-handling churches are mostly confine... Read More
The Guru Granth Sahib: An Introduction to Sikh Scripture
The central text of the Sikh religion – the Guru Granth Sahib – is a different kind of scripture. A number of features mark its distinctiveness among the scriptures of the world, including its sty... Read More
Meditation on the Deaths of Three Students
Three Boston University students died on Saturday. It was Saturday in New Zealand, anyway. It was still Friday here in Boston. They were going out into the countryside to hike one of the most sc... Read More
The Evolution of Marriage
If Christians are to be honest with themselves and reckon with their own history, then they must remain open to the possibility that the meaning of marriage may evolve—just as it has always done.... Read More
Outcomes, Incentives, and the Proof of What You Believe
In recent years there has been a spate of literature rethinking religiously-motivated service. Everything from international aid to short-term mission projects has come under fire, and many of the tit... Read More
Looking Different and Differently Looking
As far as I can remember, I’ve always looked different. In elementary school, my classmates called me a girl, a genie, and Aladdin. In middle school, I was a raghead, a diaperhead, and Sadam Hus... Read More
“Rules By Which They Could Not Live:” My Bat Mitzvah Drash
How can I publicly commit to a faith whose sacred texts explicitly condemn an important part of my life? I address this in my Bat Mitzvah drash, on parshat K'doshim-Acharei Mot.... Read More
What I Learned From Elie Wiesel
Every once in a while, maybe even once in a lifetime, someone comes into your life, unexpectedly, and changes it forever. That happened to me in the Fall of 2001. By this time, I had already gone back... Read More