"Love one another" - Jesus. When we deem someone as other, we create even more distance between us and that person. Sometimes, and quite unfairly, that person that is the other gets labeled as a sinner. The label itself engenders a picture of someone who is chronically addicted to a destructive way of life. When we create others we create outsiders. Read more
"It doesn’t matter to me if mainline denominations continue to exist in their present form. Their present form seems destined for death." Jenny Williams at the Call & Response Blog offers this post on the future of mainline denominations. Consider her insights a preview of what's to come next week when we present a compelling forum on the Future of Mainline Protestantism here at Patheos. Read more
I've read this text many,many times. But this time, something hit me at an emotional level that before I'd only grasped intellectually. It may sound quite obvious to you. Read more
"Spiritual growth often involves ritual and repetition, and nothing is more repetitive than our breathing. In my use of these breath prayers, I often imagine that every breath I take is an opening to God and that I am breathing the same air as Jesus’ first disciples." Bruce Epperly continues his Summer Spirituality series... Read more
"The newspapers, TV, and religious talk shows are dominated of late by battles between liberals and conservatives. The Tea Party is a lightning rod that raises these disagreements to a fever pitch. Most of us know the hostile words that mainline Protestants are inclined to say about the Tea Party movement. (To be honest, I’ve also experienced this temptation.) So what would a more balanced response look like?" Guest blogger Philip Clayton offers a progressive response to a series of articles defending the Tea Party posted recently at the Patheos Evangelical Portal. Read more
"We cannot force love, but we can ask for it. I pray that this will be God's gift to those of us who stay in the denomination: that we will be afflicted (even against our own desires) with a holy compassion for those against whom we are currently entrenched." Guest blogger and seminary student Talitha Phillips reflects on the recent protests at a national Presbyterian gathering in the context of building a relational church. church. Read more
Have you ever wondered what air conditioning has to do with Christian faith? Its obviously not something that Jesus thought about so why should we get concerned? I have just read a fascinating article and conversation at Alternet about whether we can and should live without air conditioning. Read more
The story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42)is the Gospel lection for July 18, 2010. I've always thought that Martha gets some bad press here. After all, she has welcomed Jesus into her home and is in the process of making him an elaborate meal. And what thanks does she get for her trouble? A negative comparison with little sis and some advice on simplifying her menu. Read more
"This week's scriptures speak to spiritual lives of North Americans today. They diagnose our condition and provide a pathway forward. With the “perfect storm” of a massive oil spill, economic uncertainty, continuing foreclosures, the ongoing two-theatre war, the threat of global climate change, terrorism, culture wars, growing racism, and shifts in geopolitical power, many people wonder if government or business can fix anything..." Theology Professor Bruce Epperly considers what this week's biblical texts mean for us today... Read more
What if religious beliefs about divine beings were caused by natural processes rather than real divine beings? Or what if religious beliefs were random unnecessary by-products? Religion is like leftover trash that can be done away with. What is someone committed to belief in God left to do? Read more
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