How Do You #Keep the Sabbath?
–”The Pharisees said, This man is not from #God, because He does not keep the #Sabbath” -#John 9:16 It was a Sunday morning in April when a man named Tagg uploaded a picture of his father onto Twitter. “Busted!” the tweet read. “#mitt2012 sneaking a peek at twitter [sic] during Sunday school.” The attached image displayed a [...]
What is Holy to Others
I do not pretend to understand how an asinine video like “The Innocence of Muslims” can drive crowds to violent and even murderous anger. Many commentators insist that the ultimate cause is not religion, but, perhaps, local politics, Western imperialism, or other political grievances. Without denying the truth in these claims, my own suspicion is [...]
In Defense of an Undergraduate Education
Bill Bonner’s diatribe against undergraduate education at UVA in the name of Thomas Jefferson and Rabbi HIllel demonstrates the same lazy habits of thinking and writing that I try to drill out of my first year undergraduates. Here’s what he could learn from reading R. Hillel more closely.
Disengagement: Try It!
In the overworked world of a clergy-person’s life, dis-engaging can not only save your soul, but be a model for those you lead to bring balance to their own lives.
Contributing Scholars
Practical MattersPractical Matters is a graduate-student run, transdisciplinary, multimedia journal, sponsored and supported at Emory University, that seeks to ask and provoke new questions about religious practices and practical theology. Founded in 2007, Practical Matters publishes peer-reviewed scholarship in several different media types and genres, reflections and essays by practitioners and teachers, video and audio interviews with scholars, reviews of current work in religious practices and practical theology, musical performances, photographic essays, and more.
Joshua ToepperJoshua is the director of student ministries at The Foundry United Methodist Church in Houston Texas. He is passionate about religion, culture, society and how all three intersect. You can follow him on twitter at twitter.com/joshuatoepper.
Daniel HallAs a staff member of the Soka Gakkai International-USA Buddhist Association, Daniel directs awareness raising initiatives centered on the U.N. Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. In May 2012, he completed a Master of Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California and has since conducted research in this area as an independent scholar. His research interests include faith diplomacy, media and religion, and the role of transnational non-state actors in global affairs. In 2013, Palgrave Macmillan will publish his article titled "Pope John Paul II, Radio Free Europe and Faith Diplomacy" as part of a new volume on religion and public diplomacy.