Robertson spins ‘prophet’ into profit Pat Robertson claims that God gave him a message during a prayer retreat. The perennial figurehead of the 700 Club says the divine missive warned of an imminent terrorist attack on American soil in 2007. Whether or not the threat would be nuclear was unclear. Whether it involves reports of superhuman strength or condemnation of Louisiana residents for exacting God’s wrath in the form of hurricane Katrina, Robertson finds regular excuses to thrust himself into... Read more

At the beginning of advent, I wrote about our apparently futile efforts to keep our three-year-old son, Mattias, focused on the central message of Christmas. Though we shared the story with him daily, he continued to insist that Santa was the most important thing about Christmas. Every day, we sat down at the dinner table and lit the advent candles and read the meditation from the advent book. He’d make it a paragraph into the story before squirming onto the... Read more

Mysterious faith holds modern lessons In the past few years, I’ve become interested in the unique cultural history of the region from Southern Colorado through northern New Mexico. I’m particularly fascinated by the stories I hear of devout lifelong Catholics who also embrace certain practices and symbols identified with Judaism. These so-called “Crypto-Jews” are plentiful from here to Santa Fe, N.M., and perhaps most interesting is that many of them have no explanation for their curious religious traditions. Many houses... Read more

It’s the time of year when mailboxes are flooded with year-end appeals from nonprofits. As a professional fundraiser, I recognize the challenge these organizations face in trying to meet demand. Part of my job as a grant-writer and fundraiser is to help create a compelling argument for why you should give to this or that cause. I want to convince you that your dollars could not be better spent on anything else. Another approach is to make giving as easy... Read more

Religion’s role: Draw lines, or cross them? By Christian Piatt Last week yielded a number of memorable events which might not seem particularly related. However, upon looking back, they all got me thinking about where organized religion fits in matters of justice. Friday, December 1st marked the fifty-first anniversary of when Rosa Parks earned the moniker as the “mother of the civil rights movement.” Her defiance of the Jim Crow laws that required her to concede her seat to a... Read more

We waited until the weekend following Thanksgiving to adorn the living room with our fake tree, stockings and a half dozen or so Nativity sets. My son, Mattias, who is 3, can hardly wait. I’ve caught him un-decorating the tree several times so far, and he already found – and unwrapped – one early gift from his aunt. My wife, Amy, and I are in ministry, so we like to think our kid looks at Christmas differently. We’ve told him... Read more

I’ve been asked to write a book with my wife, Amy, on young adults, their relationship to spirituality and the institution of church. We created an online survey to gather the opinions of this broad group labeled as ‘young adults.’ I’ve tried to reach out to a number of groups with which I might not otherwise have much of a connection in an effort to diversify our results. I joined an online atheist and agnostic discussion group, engaged them about... Read more

There is No ‘I’ in ‘Prayer.’ By Christian Piatt Originally printed in the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper I was with my wife, Amy, in Mexico last week for vacation. She found a small store, sandwiched between a convenience market and a show shop, which sold more religious paraphernalia than I ever knew existed. Amy was particularly drawn to the milagros (Spanish for ‘miracle’) which are little metal emblems, stamped in Italy – and I assume blessed by priests – with the... Read more

Hope or wishes? Joy or happiness?               Anyone who has watched the movie A Christmas Story understands the tenuous and fragile nature of wishes. From the beginning, young Ralphie is obsessed with getting his hands on a Red Rider bee bee gun, complete with a compass in the stock, for Christmas. Adults repeatedly warn him of the dangers of shooting his eye out, and scheme after scheme is foiled. Finally the blessed day arrives, and beneath the tree, he... Read more

Hey folks: My wife, Amy, and I have contracted with Chalice Press (the same publisher for my book on “Lost”) to write another book on young adults and spirituality/religion. The working title is “MySpace to Sacred Space: Young Adults in an Aging Church.” It’s due out in July or August of next year, and we’re in a heavy research phase right now. We’ve created an online survey, and we’d love to have your opinion.  It’ll take about 15 minutes to... Read more