Doctor Who: A Town Called Mercy

Tonight’s episode of Doctor Who, “A Town Called Mercy,” is a treasure trove of material for discussion for those interested in the intersection of Doctor Who and religion. What follows includes SPOILERS and so if you have yet to see the episode and don’t want to know what happens, bookmark this post and read it [...]

Fred Clark on What Differentiates Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Ken Ham and Ralph Reed from Sun Myung Moon

Here’s what Fred Clark had to say in a post today: I think…Moon is the last of his kind. Today, there are many easier paths to the same goals — more respectable and potentially more lucrative means to the same ends. Consider Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Ken Ham or Ralph Reed. They’re chasing [...]

The Apostles’ Creed & The Lord’s Prayer As One Progressive Christian Hears Them

Today on Facebook, my friend and colleague Rev. Charles Allen shared his own interpretation of – or perhaps I should say variations on or versions of – two traditional components of Christian liturgy, prayer, and devotion, namely the Apostle's Creed and the Lord's Prayer. Charles offered them with some comment, which I also include below. [...]

Restoring Jesus

I’ve felt like there was some analogy or parable to be made from the recent case of a parishioner trying to do an amateur restoration of a famous painting, with this result: Perhaps the best or at least the most relevant analogy for the sorts of subjects that I deal with is this: The figure [...]

The Other 50 Shades of Grey

From The Sacred Sandwich

Limited Inclusiveness?

A friend on Facebook shared this image, and I asked if I could share it here to see what others make of it. Thoughts?

Are Church and Society Collapsing Together?

On Facebook, I had my attention drawn to an interesting article by Margaret Wente about the decline of the liberal church, focusing on the United Church of Canada. It is an interesting article, but it deserves to be read carefully, since it acknowledges that pretty much the only churches not in decline are connected with [...]