We don't need any more “religious freedom” laws, but we could certainly use more graciously religious people. Instead of laws, we need more people of faith, free enough from prejudice and arrogance and condescension, to be able to express convictions with compassion – not just with passion.
I’ve decided that that’s what I want to be – a Waymaker. I’ve always thought of myself as a Follower of Jesus, but I’m now wondering if I should learn to see myself going before him - instead of hiding behind him.
Why is it that so many Christians think we need the government to prop up Jesus? If Christians won’t defend Sunday as a priority - our day of worship – why should we expect the culture to do it for us?
Participation in a healthy faith community connects us with a greater good – the greatest good – and that is God’s care for all living beings. There must be some truth to the old adage about there being “no atheists in foxholes.” When life’s toughest issues come our way, most people, in one way or another, begin to reflect on what would have to be called “spiritual” things. A good Church helps us engage that conversation throughout life.
They knit, they crochet, they sew. And in so-doing, they are bringing healing, hope and comfort to those who grieve and those who are sick. They bring peace to those who are lonely or afraid. Their prayers are in their handiwork.
We face a basic choice in how we live our lives: will we live out of humility and grace and be fundamentally welcoming, accepting, open to all, or will our fundamental disposition be one of judgment, exclusion, alienation?
I don’t need to understand you to accept you. I can only hope you will offer me the same grace.
“Extending protections” is not about understanding the transgender person. I cannot claim that understanding – just as I do not understand being a woman, or being poor, or being black. That lack of understanding, though, does not lead me to assume the right to discriminate. And those protections do not depend on my approval or agreement with your life choices – my personal approval, my party’s approval, my church’s approval – because our nation declared independence for ALL.
Why can’t I ever remember that it doesn’t matter how many people show up? It’s not about our work or our effort. It is really about creating space for people to draw closer to God. Ahhh, that’s right. It’s about God.
Marcus Borg gave Christianity back to many who thought they had to desert it.
It is hard to discount the Church’s beneficial influence in teaching community values and moral character and promoting compassion and understanding.
I believe God hears all human prayers -- even from humans whose understanding is limited by our finitude. Maybe that's all of us?
The recent controversy at Duke University amounts to idolatry of brick and mortar and is just more fuel for anti-religionists’ fire. Why Franklin Graham is wrong on Muslim prayer.
Generosity of spirit can be expressed in many ways. A recipe for chocolate cake is one delicious example. Russ Dean remembers great recipes from his childhood and shares one from Faye Curtis.
Trying to reconcile the biblical verse with the desperate plea of a dying man makes my head hurt – and my heart ache. How can we make sense of the frustrations and anger and feelings of helplessness that accompany each new report of another life unnecessarily lost?
Perhaps you feel the same? I know lots of people have doubts and questions about a world where these things can occur. And do occur – over and over. So I offer these thoughts. I wish they were solutions. But all I have are thoughts, ponderings, and a struggle to understand – on those difficult days when it’s hard to sigh; when you can’t breathe.
By Amy Jacks Dean
The individual (along with our individual freedoms) is not the supreme value, topping all others. Individuals won’t provide the solutions to all our problems. By Russ Dean
Death is one thing we all have in common. All of us. The birds, the bees, the flowers, the trees, the Neanderthals – you and me – we all die. There is no question about it. And yet, people are reluctant to talk about death – especially their own.
By Russ Dean
