Tag: Faith
The Mitzvah of Cheshvan
We are in a time of false starts and uncertainty. Just last week in Judaism, we read not only one, but two, creation stories. This week, we will read about God washing out and wiping away nearly all o... Read More
Rosh HaShanah – The Day of Infinite Possibilities
Each year we have the opportunity read the text of our lives differently according to the vowels we supply. Rosh Hashanah invites us to gently and lovingly bring ourselves back to God, the eternal mot... Read More
On Faith and the Moral Universe
This week marks fifty years since the 1963 March on Washington, and for the sake of historical accuracy and relevance I should be thinking about the words “I have a dream,” which Rev. Dr. Martin L... 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
My Folk Rock Prophets
Some people assume that because I grew up outside organized religion I grew up without prayers, or hymns, or prophets. Knowing what I now do about all those things, I can see why pity creeps into stra... Read More
On Hitchens, Flatmates, and Interfaith Gone Wrong
When I was doing my graduate research in England, I shared a terraced house with two undergrads, one of whom I will call Phil. It was rather unheard of to see Phil before noon, but one morning he emer... Read More
Public Piety, Authentic Courage and Christian Witness
You may have heard about the young man, a valedictorian in Liberty, SC. I’ve been following the story somewhat closely, because it’s close to home in more than one way. More abstractly, is... Read More
In the wake of tragedy, a compassionate (religious?) response
It seems as if the tragedies are coming so fast we only need bullet points now: Newtown; The Boston Marathon; Oklahoma. There are hundreds of incidents I could write between each one, like a brief out... Read More