For many years evangelical and fundamentalist Christians in the United States have been fighting for the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, especially courthouses, city halls and legislatures. I have always understood this as only a political move to assert the mythology of America's Christian origins. I see it as political because there …
The Provocative Jesus
Two versions of the same Gospel story, the healing of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter. First, Mark's version: And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose …
When God is rejected
God's love for the world entailed also a love for the nations. The Bible does not shy away from the political overtones of God's ways. But God's desire for the nations has always - without exception - been disappointed. Yes, disappointed - from the very beginning. God's desire was that his people would be "a …
Lights of God rise in the darkness
Over a hundred years ago (in 1915, to be precise) the great German theologian wrote the following, in an essay called "The Righteousness of God": What is the use of all the preaching, baptising, confirming, bell-ringing, and organ-playing, of all the religious moods and modes, the counsels of 'applied religion'....the efforts to enliven church singing, …
A Simple Change in Symbolism
On September 14th the Orthodox Church celebrates the Elevation (or Exaltation) of the Holy Cross. In Byzantium this was more than a holy day. In some respects it was the national holiday of the Byzantine Empire! Consider the primary hymn of the day: O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance. Grant vict'ries to …
The Unspoken Morality
Viet Thanh Nguyen came to the United States in 1975 as a refugee from Vietnam. He was interviewed last night by Christiane Amanpour on PBS. They discussed the current policy of the United States to separate children from their parents if they enter the US "illegally". After playing a clip of Attorney General Jeff Sessions …
Stephen Hawking is now one with the Universe
No scientist since Albert Einstein has captured the public imagination and spotlight like Stephen Hawking. Diagnosed with ALS at the age of 21, doctors gave him two more years of life; he defied all odds and lived another 55 years, during which he transformed our understanding of the universe. He is now one with the …
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An Ash Wednesday of Sin and Horror
Among the most poignant scenes from yesterday's carnage in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School yesterday were grieving and anxious parents with ashes on their forehead. Yesterday, of course, was Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for Roman Catholics and Episcopalians. This is how the website bibleinfo.com summarizes the meaning of Ash Wednesday: Roman Catholic churches …
Our Totalitarian Lives
I stand in awe of Karl Barth (1886-1968), generally acknowledged as the greatest theologian of the 20th century and one of the greatest of all time. My awe is not simply at his theological depth and understanding of Scripture; I'm awed at the sheer quantity of what he wrote and published. His greatest contribution to …
The Logos of Advent
Advent is a time of rich liturgical and popular traditions in the western churches, especially in the Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches. But it is a much undeveloped liturgical time in the eastern churches, where it is primarily observed as a fasting season, probably thanks to the disproportionate influence of monastics in the evolution …
Ancient Answers 