As many readers know, I was actively involved in the 2008 presidential campaign – for the first time in my life. I was less involved in the 2012 campaign, but was still a vocal public supporter for Obama/Biden. Like everyone (including, I’m sure, President Obama himself), I’ve had my share of disappointments about the last four years. But I remain respectful of President Obama’s leadership and cautiously hopeful about the next four years. Three things, I think, need to be... Read more
I was invited to compose a 100-word benediction suitable for the US presidential inauguration, along with 25 others, all of which are available here. Here’s mine: Living God, whose glory surpasses every name and creed by which we seek to honor you, May our leaders become less concerned about the splinters in the eyes of their opponents and more concerned about the planks in their own. May our people reject the allure of dishonest and arrogant voices and be drawn instead to... Read more
The same day Kentucky sage Wendell Berry went public with a strongly worded statement about gay people and the Christian faith, my friend Steve Chalke went public with a similar statement in the UK. It was carried in Christianity Magazine (like Christianity Today in the US, an Evangelical publication). You can read the abridged version here: http://www.oasisuk.org/inclusionresources/Articles/MOIabridged and the unabridged version here: http://www.oasisuk.org/inclusionresources/Articles/MOI Quotable: For all of these reasons, I face a hard choice; a choice between the current dominant view of what... Read more
All parties have their weaknesses, to be sure, some quite glaring. But all have virtues too. Here are three for each. 1. Republicans, at their best, A. Emphasize individual responsibility B. Are sensitive to the dangers of unaccountable government C. Are concerned about the long-term consequences of growing debt 2. Democrats, at their best, A. Emphasize social responsibility B. Are sensitive to the dangers of unaccountable corporations C. Are concerned about the long-term consequences of growing inequality 3. Libertarians, at... Read more
The same day news outlets around the country carried a notable headline — “Protestants Lose Majority Status in US” — I was in a jam-packed church, speaking about my new book on Christian identity in a multi-faith world. The article explored recent Pew research about the rise of the “Nones”, religiously unaffiliated Millennials, and the corresponding decline in both Mainline and Evangelical Protestant church affiliation. After my lecture, several young Christian adults talked with me about how the headline resonates with one... Read more
Recently, Patheos hosted an interfaith roundtable on my new book, Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? and invited a half dozen bloggers to respond from their own faith perspectives. The following are my responses to each of the contributors, and a link to each blogger’s full post from the roundtable. Brad Hirschfield Greetings, Brad – thanks for your thoughtful and encouraging reply. I really like the image of walking a journey together – but each in... Read more
It’s not accidental, nor is it insignificant, that Easter occurred on a Sunday, the first day of a new week. Last week, the center of gravity was on the last day, set aside as a day of rest from all that had gone before. As the sun rises Easter morning, everything changes. The emphasis shifts from what lies behind to what lies ahead of us, from what we have done to what God is doing, from what we have been... Read more
I sometimes envy people who follow tradition without asking questions. They gain benefits from their tradition that the rest of us will never know. (There are costs, of course, to their lack of questioning, as there are to everything, but that’s another story.) We questioners can’t help but smell some problems with Lent. We note how back in the Middle Ages, for example, Thomas Aquinas recommended abstaining from meat because it produced more semen (in fifty percent of the population),... Read more
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused President Obama of a “phony theology” over the weekend, a theology that takes seriously “serving the earth.” I agree with Paul Raushenbush: Rick Santorum was terribly unwise to make theological correctness an issue in a political campaign. But I think he was right about his differences with President Obama being theological in nature. Many of us see ecological concern to be eminently theological and biblical . . . not that political arguments should be framed... Read more
You know how synchronicities happen. It’s not just the song you’re listening to or the book you’re reading, but what you’re eating or who you’re with or where you are when you do so. So I was re-reading Adam Hamilton’s Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity recently, “synchronicitously” with a mistake and a holiday. The mistake had to do with some yearend giving back in December. We make it our practice to give away a minimum of a certain percent of... Read more
Brian McLaren
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