Some may have noticed I didn’t post a faith column this weekend. For those who haven’t had a chance to read the last one I did post, it’s because I’ve left my column at the Pueblo Chieftain. For some time, I’ve been a strong advocate for the need for an alternative press voice in our area, and three months ago, PULP was born. It’s an alt-monthly for now, but once the funds are in place, there are plans to take... Read more

I don’t know, but I believe By CHRISTIAN PIATT THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN Unfortunately, this will be my last column for The Pueblo Chieftain. I’ve accepted a new local writing position, and in doing so have had to make some difficult choices. One of those resulted in my agreement to give up my column here on Saturdays. It wasn’t an easy choice, and it’s hard to say if it’s the right thing to do or not. The wisdom of our choices... Read more

Our little old band from Denver, featured on CNN. How cool is that? CDP The little band that wants to change the world Colored wristbands run halfway up Stephen Brackett’s arm, each one marking a show he and his band, the Flobots, have played the last several days. Brackett, who goes by Brer Rabbit as one of the MCs for the Flobots, keeps each one until the six-person band has a bad show, when he cuts them all off. The... Read more

Convention sparks superficial activism By CHRISTIAN PIATT THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN I didn’t believe it when I heard it. There have been rumors floating around that Denver officials were trying to whisk away homeless people before the upcoming Democratic National Convention so that they wouldn’t make anyone feel uncomfortable. I figured that certainly this was one of those urban legends that stemmed from a bad joke or something. But it turns out that it’s actually true. The Los Angeles Times reported... Read more

‘Dark Knight’ speaks to our darker nature By CHRISTIAN PIATT I’m a big fan of movies. Always have been. As a kid, my folks took me to the drive-in all summer long, and we’d hit the theaters at least once a week. Suffice it to say that having kids has stifled my movie-going habits dramatically. I see very little that’s not animated anymore, unless I catch it on DVD. But when the buzz kept building about “The Dark Knight,” Christopher... Read more

AIDS data forces us to face facts By CHRISTIAN PIATT I had mixed feelings about recent news that HIV infection numbers are way up in the United States. On one hand, it’s a tragedy that anyone in our affluent, knowledgeable society still suffers from a preventable disease such as HIV/AIDS, but it is good news at least that the virus, which claims thousands of lives here every year, is at least momentarily on the public radar again. I’ve worked in... Read more

As if Christian ministers don’t have enough bad press to contend with, between financial scandals, extramarital dalliances and the sexual abuse fiascoes of the Catholic church, Kenneth Copeland is falling into a predictable stereotype for media-savvy evangelists. Known as one of the fathers of Prosperity Gospel – the idea that God wants us to prosper not just spiritually, but also financially – Copeland has come under recent scrutiny by The Associated Press, Congress and the Internal Revenue Service for questionable... Read more

The Pueblo Question: Catholic or Christian? By CHRISTIAN PIATT One strange question is usually an aberration. But when you’ve been asked the same weird question several times, over a number of years, it reflects a broader mindset. The question is: “Are you Catholic or Christian?” The following conversation approximates what happens next. We’ll call the fictitious person I’m talking to “Jim.” Jim: “So you’re a church guy, huh?” Me: “Pretty much, yeah.” Jim: “Are you Catholic? Christian?” Me: “Well, yes.”... Read more

Gabriel’s Revelation: Changing faith as we know it? By CHRISTIAN PIATT THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN A stone tablet, 3 feet high with more than 80 lines of handwritten text, describes what some believe is a messiah who suffers, dies and rises again after three days. The relic, called “Gabriel’s Revelation,” portrays an apocalyptic scene as supposedly recounted by the angel Gabriel himself. Did I mention that archaeologists have dated its creation to several decades before Jesus was even born? The tablet... Read more

I got more mail after this week’s column than I’ve ever gotten before, partly because of the content, but also because I was placed, of the first time, on the front page of the paper’s Faith section with my column. Most letters were supportive, and others were simply – and predictably – one-sided rants. However, there were a couple who actually seemed interested in learning more about the law. Here’s a good explanation: “Introduced by Sen. Jennifer Veiga and Rep.... Read more