The challenge of living with opposable minds One of the biggest knocks against organized religion these days is the tendency from within to take a firm ideological position, dig in collective heels and refuse to consider alternative points of view. Most of us can list the so-called “hot button” issues that have become the marquee causes, such as abortion, gay marriage, and, in general, any activity having to do with body parts touching other body parts. Lest anyone assume I’m... Read more

Is Mel Gibson to blame for ‘Horton’ paranoia? I grew up enamored with Dr. Seuss books, reading every one I could get my hands on, including “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” which came out after I was an adult. I’ve continued to share these books with my son, Mattias, who responds with similar enthusiasm. So it was with no small degree of eagerness that I looked forward to taking him to see “Horton Hears a Who” when previews popped up... Read more

Rev. Wright’s rhetoric rankles somewhat and reveals much Sen. Barack Obama has come under heavy fire for his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, recently retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Obama still maintains membership. Obama has been criticized for not severing his ties with the church where Wright has delivered some sermons during his 36 years of ministry that many have deemed as inappropriate. Wright is no stranger in political circles. He attended executive... Read more

My 100th column: What’s in a number? I realized the other day that today is my 100th column in the Faith section of The Pueblo Chieftain. It caused me to reflect on all of the topics I’ve covered in the last two years, and what I might yet address given the opportunity to continue. For a couple of days, it even felt a little bit daunting to write a landmark column like No. 100, but why? What’s more important about... Read more

Mormons’ valley vandal issue points to deeper woes By now, most folks in Southern Colorado know about the recent story of three Mormon missionaries apparently photographing one another mocking various elements of a Catholic chapel in the San Luis Valley, along with the suspicion that they also are the ones responsible for vandalizing property, including a statue of a saint. That the missionaries went through the effort to scale the hill where the statues and chapel are located suggests not... Read more

What the heck is a carbon footprint? I read a piece recently in The New Yorker about the latest environmental buzz phrase: your “carbon footprint.” Though I’ve had some vague idea before now what it was, I didn’t realize how complicated it really can be to figure out what my carbon footprint is, or how to do anything about it.  Though environmental sensitivity, in its many manifestations, has been an ethical issue for some time, churches are increasingly aware of... Read more

When information leads to inaction I am a music junkie, with more than 1,000 CDs and countless downloaded music files. There’s a music store in Dallas called Bill’s Records that had the deepest music catalog of any music store I had ever seen. If there was a rare import or limited edition release, I knew Bill’s would have it. Sometimes, though, I just wanted to browse. The problem was that, unless I had a specific thing in mind that I... Read more

It seems that many adventures hang upon the wild waggings of Mattias’  – my four-year-old son’s – tongue. Three examples from the last week come to mind. I’ve warned him more than once that his confrontational nature and fearless tendency to get up in people’s faces could easily lead to him getting popped in the face. I suppose he’s more of a learn-by-doing kind of kid. Last weekend, he was in the back of the car with his friend, Vaughan,... Read more

The tyranny of the unpossessed in America It’s come up before in this column that I’m a big basketball fan. I’ve traveled as many as 700 miles to attend an NBA playoff game, and I’m proud to say I once caught Kenyon Martin in my arms when he leapt over his team’s bench for a wayward ball. There are few in my life who share my passion for pro ball. So when I get together with those select friends who... Read more

Superdelegates: A distortion of democracy It seems the Democratic Party has a dangerously short memory. Though their candidate for president lost his bid for the White House, while managing to win the popular vote, less than eight years ago, they seem intent on risking the same sort of outcome with the distribution of so-called superdelegates in determining their presidential nominee. The delegate process is complex, and some might argue antiquated and irrelevant. Each state is appointed a certain number of... Read more