Dialogue, Politics, and the Muslim World

June 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The wisest possible ordering of society is revealed not in sacred books, but in free and open dialogue of committed citizens. The Muslim world has historically been subject to movements of both reform and renewal. Only the most shallow reading of its history could maintain that social, economic, and political structures haven’t changed, and along [...]

Real Evangelism for the 21st Century

April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

When the world changes, all commitments must be renewed. Our churches are filled primarily with members driven by inertia, social acceptance, entertainment, and available member services rather than a commitment to God put into practice through worship and service. John Lennon’s great song, Imagine, is often played at Christmas time (apparently without irony) to remember [...]

The Curse of the (Social) Creed

March 6, 2013 By 5 Comments

We have turned humanity into an object of Christian faith, and social behaviors into essential Christian practices. A couple of decades ago I sat visiting over lunch with my fellow students at the University of Malaya.  The conversation turned to our professors. A young woman with her hair wrapped tightly beneath her headscarf and wearing [...]

Human Nature and its Clueless Detractors

March 4, 2013 By 1 Comment

The fantasy filled fear-mongers like Louie Gohmert and Wayne LaPierre don’t just misrepresnt Muslims or the dangers of fiscal chaos, they misrepresent human nature. And this is far more dangerous to the United States than any terrorist threat because this misrepresentation destroys the fabric of human society in the name of defending it. “The American [...]

Establishing Religion?

February 8, 2013 By 18 Comments

Should private companies be able to establish the religious beliefs of their owners as the norm for their employees? We need an ongoing, public, exploration of our differing religious ethics. We need inter religious dialogue so that we begin to understand what is really at stake when we talk about the establishment of religion, or [...]

Science and Religion – an Interfaith Encounter.

February 1, 2013 By 7 Comments

Yesterday I was one of three speakers at a forum on science and religion. Speaking as unelected representative of all Christians I basically made a single point: that the orthodox Christian tradition teaches that God reveals God’s self in two ways: through the created order (natural revelation) and through particular moments in which God speaks [...]

Jesus or JR?

January 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Over the last couple of years I’ve had the opportunity to talk with working scriptwriters and directors about just what makes for a compelling story. Specifically the TV series Dallas, the second generation. To paraphrase one of them “If you want people to enter a world you create week after week you have to create [...]

The Failure of the Christian Narrative?

January 22, 2013 By 6 Comments

It is no news that fewer and fewer Americans, especially young Americans, have no religious affiliation. (http://religions.pewforum.org/affiliations) And if Charles Taylor is right (A Secular Age) a much greater number can at least imagine having no religion. This news comes at a time when Christian churches have never been more active in providing personal and [...]

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Religious Leadership and the Religions

January 12, 2013 By 3 Comments

You aren’t a leader if you can’t lead across cultures in a complex religious environment.  . . . I continue to muse on a read through three years of the HBR. In the last blog I suggested that the classical liberal arts university and its dedication to leadership got distorted by the demands for technical [...]

Leadership, Religion, and Religions

January 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

You aren’t a leader if you can’t lead across cultures in a complex religious environment. . . . This past week, in a study of a really different culture, I read through three years of the Harvard Business Review. Quite fascinating. I had expected some pretty dry reading about statistics, supply chain flows, automation of [...]

Time to Exclude, and Invite, and be True

December 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Recently my friend Mike Ghouse wrote an article promoting a kind of interfaith Christmas. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/interfaith-christmas-making-god-boundless_b_2347856.ht) Well intentioned, but also deeply problematic. Mike wants to reinforce Christmas as a civil religious holiday for a religiously plural society. I think we’d all be better off if it returned to being the cult celebration exclusively for Christians. I [...]