Tag: Christianity
What is our response to ‘Sexting, Shaming and Suicide?’
Some stories are difficult to make sense of. Take, for instance, one of the stories from the Bible from Judges 19. It is the story of a Levite traveling through the hill country of Ancient Israel, goi... Read More
On Teaching Religion at a Humanist School in a Christian Nation
At Kasese Humanist Primary School (KHPS) in Kasese, Uganda I have been assigned to teach English and Religious Education for the month I am volunteering here. This is a natural assignment. My BA is i... Read More
Jesus and the Moneychangers in the Scrovegni Chapel
In the summertime I visited Padua and went to the Scrovegni Chapel, dated 1305. In the past 40 years the frescos have begun to crumble, and curators have researched atmospheric problems in order to co... Read More
Lessons Learned while Teaching Buddhist Monks
Teaching Cambodian Buddhist monks is mostly the same as teaching Cambodian children. There are less discipline problems and the monks can’t play games—even educational ones. Also, because I am... Read More
Lightning Strikes
When Reverend Ray Hammond preaches, he electrifies the room. I saw lightning strike when he started his sermon with Ephesians 6:10-20. So did 10 people sitting with me. Usually, it takes more than an ... Read More
Proof in the Pudding
On August 14, 2013, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America elected Elizabeth Eaton as its presiding bishop. She is the first woman bishop in American Lutheran history. Eaton carried the vote wit... Read More
“Chop Wood. Carry Water.” Holy Envy, Zen, and a Spirituality of Work
The Swedish theologian, Krister Stendahl, famously spoke of “Holy Envy” as that virtue of remaining open to aspects we find in religious traditions other than our own in order to admire them and ... Read More
Reza Aslan’s Jesus
Reza Aslan has a remarkable ability to make ancient stories come alive. I have assigned his earlier books, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam and Beyond Fundamentalism, in und... Read More