"Star Trek Into Darkness" does what Star Trek has always done best: holds up a mirror to the United States and asks, "Are we the moral people we want to be?"

A brutal terrorist attack prompts this question of reflection in the film.

Like 9/11, or...

Judy Bright -- a certified nurse midwife, advanced nurse practitioner, public health administrator and my mother -- died before she could take advantage of Obamacare, but as an advocate for public health and someone with a pre-existing condition, she knew the difference it would make for millions of Americans.

The ability of a minority in the U.S. Senate to block common sense gun violence prevention measures -- including background checks to keep guns from violent criminals and mentally unstable people -- is a victory for the NRA, whose leadership has sided with criminals and terrorists over the...

National Public Radio asked this week how close the world was to Doomsday. People since, well, the beginning of time have been asking similar questions.

We live in the only era, however, where humanity has the actual power to end what God created. North Korea's...

Faith leaders often say that budgets are moral documents. That being the case, Paul Ryan has offered in his new House GOP budget proposal a vision of a morally bankrupt American society.

Earlier this year religious communities came together and wrote President Obama and Congress asking that our...

What does Albert Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, have in common with al Qaeda, the terrorist network that attacked the United States on 9/11? Both oppose marriage equality, and Mohler and now al Qaeda have attacked President Obama on religious grounds...

In last night's State of the Union Address we heard President Obama address economic inequality and poverty -- issues often talked about by America's faith communities but little discussed in Washington -- and for needed action to address climate change, gun violence prevention and

Yesterday my two congregations - like many - celebrated the life and ministry of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and remembered his dream of the Beloved Community. Today, in Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama gave the American people a powerful vision of community in

The White House is considering proposals to reduce gun violence that go far beyond "simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition," according to the Washington Post. People of faith should back these efforts and work with President Obama to make our neighborhoods, schools, malls,...

After another year of difficulty at home and abroad those of us who are Christians will gather to remember once more the birth of a child filled with hope and promise. In churches across America we will join fellow believers all over the world and celebrate the birth...

Coming up quickly after Christmas will be the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. In Vancouver, Wash., one observance -- organized to promote education equality -- is being co-sponsored by Wal-Mart, the company under fire for their low wages and anti-union policies. We can assume the organizers...

If you really want to walk off a cliff, cut programs for those fighting to escape poverty in our nation. The debate over the looming sequester -- that odd word that on this occasion holds such deep meaning -- is a moral debate. How the President and Congress...

As President Barack Obama ended his victory speech Tuesday evening he told the American people "with your help and God's grace, we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on earth."

The agenda before...

As the nation deals with the impact of Hurricane Sandy, it ought to be a time to set aside partisan politics -- even with the election just a week away. But Mitt Romney has decided to continue campaigning in the battleground state of Ohio (renaming his election rallies "Storm Aids...

During the closing moments of Tuesday night's debate Mitt Romney made much to do about how his deep faith shaped has character and policies. The problem is what to make of that with a man who has been pro-choice and pro-life, pro-environmental protection and anti-environmental protection,...

In 2007, I endorsed Barack Obama when he was 30 points behind in the polls because I believed he had the vision and moral character to move our nation forward. Despite inheriting a wrecked economy, President Obama has indeed moved our nation in the right direction -- by

A small but growing number of clergy have decided in recent years not to sign marriage licenses because of the reality that in doing so we participate in a system that actively discriminates against gays and lesbians. This weekend I shared with my congregations in a sermon that...

Paul Ryan once said: "Ayn Rand, more than anyone else, did a fantastic job of explaining the morality of capitalism." The Wisconsin congressman and GOP nominee for vice-president has been known to give copies of Rand's books for gifts and has told many he bases policy after Rand's...

This reflection on Psalm 23 and gun violence in the United States was delivered at both N. Portland's University Park Church and SE Portland's Sunnyside Church by the Rev. Chuck Currie on July 22.

Our schools and churches and movie theaters are places we...

This election year provides one of the starkest contrasts in governing philosophies in modern times. Today's GOP has shed it's moderate wing and, like in 1964 when Barry Goldwater ran against LBJ, is running a campaign that is far to the right politically. This has implications for people of faith...