Why This Devotee of God Doesn’t Think To Be Atheist Is To Be A Demon
There are two kinds of people in this world. Devotees and demons. I think this is absolutely true. But let’s parse this out a bit. First of all, what is the source of my seemingly eccentric and dogmatic statement? In the sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna speaks of two kinds of natures that exist in this [...]
Swords, Guns, and Evangelical Allegory
Right after the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, I Googled ‘Christian gun control’ and ‘Christian gun rights,’ and found, not surprisingly, some spirited Biblical defenses of the right to bear arms. Today, I’m happy to report, these pages are mostly drowned out by evangelical voices, whether conservative evangelicals or former conservatives, who are increasingly willing to challenge the doctrines [...]
Too close for comfort? Reflections on Protestant/Catholic dialogue
As a father of one–year–old twin boys, and witness to both the love and the antagonism shared between them, I have been granted many an occasion to reflect on how it can be that those with whom we share the most are often those with whom we fight the most. Somewhat unexpectedly, I find my [...]
Christian Feminist Spirituality for Healing, Part 2
This post is my second in a series of three posts dealing with sexual abuse and Christian spirituality. In my first post I talked about ways that certain Christian messages tend to create stumbling blocks for those striving to heal from the trauma of abuse, and I listed a couple of ideas to keep in [...]
The Election of the New Hope: Dispatch from Rome
Last night I went to Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. I hoped to to see the black smoke of the papal conclave. I figured the dark puff would roil out from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the sorry crowd would disperse into the dusk. I heard the smoke would disperse around 4:30pm so [...]
On Being a Person of Faith in Texas
Working in Texas as a progressive person of faith can sometimes be a weary task. Christianity is unashamedly used to promote policies and values that make me anything but proud to say I work at a church in Texas. As the current Texas legislative session proceeds, it seems there is another statistic being voiced every [...]
From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Testimonies of Hope!
I was up late that Tuesday evening. It was around 11:30. I had taken a nap earlier in the evening, so I was now cleaning my kitchen and next I was proceeding to clean my bathroom. I was listening to the latest Hip Hop and R& B song my friend from America had sent me. [...]
Christianity Provides Me With the Costly Option of Nonviolence and Peacemaking
A dear friend from Chicago visited me recently in Los Angeles. Both of us are Christians, and while we agreed that violent force was not preferable, I think he felt I was too radical in implying that any show of violence is unchristian. “I agree,” he told me, “that we shouldn’t kill people, I just [...]
The Megaphone of Money in American Politics
While the sums are larger and the stakes are higher in recent times, the fear that money corrupts those in power is an age-old issue. As far back as the Hebrew Bible those concerned with justice warned against the powerful and dangerous effects of money in politics.
#King: Who’s the Man with the Master Plan?
April 26th, 1992: there was a riot on the streets. Tell me, where were you? You were sitting home watching your TV… while I was participating in some anarchy. – Sublime – I had only just turned five years old some weeks before this. It was before I had entered kindergarten, which occurred the next [...]
Contributing Scholars
Ben MatonBen is a husband of one, father of three, a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Charlottesville, VA, and a PhD candidate in "Scripture, Interpretation, and Practice" at the University of Virginia.
Tricia PethicTricia Pethic is an aspiring chaplain in Hartford Seminary’s Islamic chaplaincy program and holds a Master’s degree in Near Eastern Studies. She is currently interning at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT, providing spiritual counsel and education to female Muslim inmates.
Martha SchwehnMartha Schwehn Bardwell is an MDiv student at Luther Seminary and is pursuing ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband, Sam.