By Sarah Pulliam Bailey Religion News Service (RNS) Oklahoma’s devastating tornado stirred up a theological debate that was set off from a seri...
"Imagine 10,000 men, fathers, sons, brothers and Christ-followers, coming together to worship God and learn more about the life of true adventure He intends for us as men." That's an actual description of one such event. If you're like me, you're very, very nervous to read any further.
Philosophy and theology departments are increasingly irrelevant backwaters in the modern university, engaged in seemingly solipsistic debates. If they want to reclaim exalted status in the university and society, they would do well to embrace Big History.
Maybe it certifies me as an old fogey even at 33, but I actually enjoy the Dewey Decimal System, and the associated process of flipping through books with your hands to see if the title you seek is or is not in the right place. There is something therapeutic and educational about that.
Today has been declared a National Day of Silence in honor of the many LGBT students that are bullied into silence regarding their sexuality. There is something very powerful about choosing to identify with someone different.
All of his heroic stories shaped who I am. I never questioned whether or not the miraculous things that occurred in the book of Daniel were really legit. Today, I found out that they were not and sat with my mouth agape and my heart tormented.
It does not conjure thoughts of one person or entity. It does not invoke a man, a prophet or a hierarchy. It invokes us, and by calling on it we affirm that we are a part of the power that answers our own prayers and wishes.
We need religion that encourages personal questioning and critical thinking. We need less doctrine and more humble acknowledgement of mystery. We need more of what the early Hasidic rabbis of Eastern Europe called mochin d'gadlut -- an open, expansive mind.
The debate over gun-control seems to boil down to a lot of assumptions both sides make about the other, and about what a safe society looks like.
I don't like to think of the heart as a piece of plumbing, a pump, even though I come from a family of plumbers. The heart is the seat of the soul. Nor do I think of golf as mere physical exercise or as a meaningless game. With a certain frame of mind, you can see it as a spiritual practice.
Prepare your best Saint Valentine's Day cards for them. Our pets are our sisters and our brothers, and they call us to be better people and better stewards of creation than we are now.
Professional chaplains are among the few caregivers in the hospital who have the time to sit and listen to the patient and family members. We listen without an agenda and work to support the patient and family members in whatever ways we can.
In the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl, a reporter asked Lewis, "How does it feel to be a Super Bowl Champion?" He responded "When God is for you, who can be against you?" This sets up a dangerous dualistic approach where you're either on God's side or not.
LaPierre does have a point. We do need to address the way our culture glorifies violence. But the priority must be to stop the bleeding.
Each year, within every cycle of time, it comes round again: the radical vulnerability of God, willingly chosen out of desire for intimacy with a complicated, hard-headed and desperately tender world.
The fact is, this is a man's world. War of the Sexes We've all heard this. It is both true and and soul-destroying. But for whom? Don't women benefi...
But my question remains: is it ever even possible to feel and experience a sense of utter and absolute safety in this life in the very same breath that we inhale the daily news?
I've been asked to write about theology and violence after every recent mass shooting, and I am sick to death of doing so, but the Newtown shootings feel different to me.
"It is only if we really enter into Advent that we can be surprised, astonished, blown away by the coming of that which so far exceeds what is possible, what is programmable..."
Our theology is both a faith statement and a process of reflection. Our faith teaches us that we can expect to continue to be inspired, to learn from one another, and to seek out that spiritual growth.
Having elevated the Bible -- or at least the nicer bits that they like -- to the status of a magic book evangelicals have demoted God. The...
Let me confess: I was an early theological critic of Uncle Walt, which he was often enthusiastically called. He represented a spiritual point of view sharply antithetical to mine.
I feel sorry for God. With his "friends" helping the Republicans to screw up our planet for profit he's in as much trouble as the Republican Party is. God needs better friends and evangelicals need a better (or no) theology.
Sadly, many readers of Kristof's column responded in similar ways to the audience at the Republican primary debate. One wrote, "Not sure why I'm to feel guilty about your friend's problem. I take care of myself and mine, and I am not responsible for anyone else." Oh, really?
Self-proclaimed Hindus ought to have a position on the centrality of class and caste. While Hinduism is known for its tremendous diversity, for "Hindu" to be useful category, there has to be some religious claims and teachings that are agreed upon by all who proclaim to be Hindus.
