After Auschwitz, What?
After Auschwitz, no theology: From the chimneys of the Vatican, white smoke rises — a sign the cardinals have chosen themselves a Pope. From the crematoria of Auschwitz, black smoke rises — a sign the conclave of Gods hasn’t yet chosen the Chosen People.1 –Yehuda Amichai On Yom HaShoah, the Jewish day to mourn [...]
Four Bad Arguments for the Soul
When a priest decides there is no soul, the fan mail is not always fun to read. Luckily I’ve had plenty of practice. For two years I mused about whether the state of neuroscience is far enough along to suggest that there truly is no such thing as a soul. And in such musings, with wise [...]
Faith, Sex and Religious Liberty
Bill Keller’s Sunday New York Times column, “The Conscience of a Corporation,” gets to the heart of the current fuss between Hobby Lobby and the Obama Care provision that employers of 50 people and above insure contraception. Recently, the Obama administration made allowances for religiously affiliated non-profit organizations to not cover contraception – yielding to [...]
James Baldwin and the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
The 16th Street Baptist Church sits in the middle of downtown Birmingham, Alabama. During the heart of the Civil Rights movement, when Birmingham was known across the nation as “Bombingham,” marchers and protesters would assemble at the 16th Street Baptist Church, then walk across the street to Kelly Ingram Park, where they demonstrated against segregated [...]
Mystical Ponderings of an Atheist: Death
One day I will die, awake and fall upward. I will reach out to touch as I descend through my soul. I will fall. Descending straight through you, mother, filtering my time’s relevance. – Kyle Taylor, 2011 A [...]
Theology of the Body, Episode I: The Orans Gesture in Christian Prayer
This is the first installment in an ongoing series that will explore issues in spirituality through a review of significant symbolic motions, poses, and gestures from a variety of religious traditions. Throughout human history, the heart’s longing for religious enlightenment has spawned many practices associated with the active contemplation of and interaction with the bodies [...]
A Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Chic-Fil-A Controversy: An Observation
The Chic-Fil-A controversy made us painfully aware of our differences that reflect both religious and political commitments. In the following weeks, a lone gunman attempted to enter the offices of FRC and open fire on members of the group, indicating his displeasure with their “politics.” In the following reflection, I’ll try to boil down both [...]
![By Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, Jessica C. Smith. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.stateofformation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/640px-US_poverty_rate_timeline1-145x115.gif)
Liberty and (Economic) Justice for All
I’ve been rejoicing to witness our US presidential election campaign narrative turning to economics, thanks to a contender with a background in the private equity business (or, vulture capitalism, as it is known to some). At the same time, I continue to feel great anguish that poverty and our nation’s and earth’s most impoverished have [...]
A Call to Care about the Environment
The world is in bad shape and not in a metaphorical sense. No I mean the earth – the giant rock that we all live on – is in really bad shape. As of May 31, 2012, carbon dioxide readings are above 400ppm, 50 ppm more than the generally accepted “safe levels” of carbon dioxide [...]
Faith in Space
When it comes to believing that Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi-horror classic Alien is one of the best movies of its kind ever, I have discovered that I am not alone in the universe. I have also discovered that finding his new, not-quite-a-prequel Prometheus really annoying is also a shared experience. Among its most annoying attributes [...]
Contributing Scholars
Susan HarrisonI am a PhD candidate at the Toronto School of Theology - Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto. In addition to my current research in Christian Peace Theology and the Theology of Religions I teach, participate in and organize Interfaith dialogue events. I have an MDiv and a ThM in New Testament and have found leading Scriptural Reasoning groups a meaningful way of connecting with people, building community, and learning about how scripture shapes lives and gives meaning to people. I have served in different capacities as a pastor, chaplain and a cultural exchange program coordinator. Some of my writing includes "Interfaith friendship as a Bridge to Peace" in *Windows to World's Religions* (ed. Arvind Sharma), articles for the *Common Ground News* and I am one of the editor's and contributor's to the book *On Spirituality: Essays from the Third Shii Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue*.
Andrew BowenAndrew Bowen, once a fervent enemy of religion, is now a perpetual student and champion for inter-religious peace and reconciliation. In 2011, Andrew created Project Conversion, a year-long personal immersion into the culture, practices, beliefs, and rituals of 12 belief systems from around the world as a personal intervention after years of animosity toward faith.
Drew JacobDrew Jacob is a philosopher, adventurer and polytheist priest. Travel is his spiritual practice, adventure is his religion. He believes we can live for our ideals, chase a greater fate, seek out challenge and change the shape of the world. He's going 8,000 miles to try it out.