David Brooks and Religious Hostility: Tasting Goodness

Last updated on: February 7, 2015 at 12:09 am By Suzanne Ross

In his column for the New York Times called Alone, Yet Not Alone, David Brooks laments the “strong vein of hostility against orthodox religious believers in America today, especially among the young.” Even more disturbing for Brooks is that in his experience, the opinion of young people is too often justified. He observes that religious believers can be “judgmental,” “hypocritical,” “old-fashioned” and “out of touch” and he wonders why that’s so. Brooks, who is Jewish, knows that the Judeo-Christian tradition... Read more

Mimetic Theory Goes to Prison

Last updated on: January 28, 2014 at 6:35 pm By Suzanne Ross

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I recently had the pleasure of discussing mimetic theory and scapegoating with our friends at the Metta Center in Berkeley. Michael Nagler suggested that our prison system in which African-Americans are incarcerated at six times the rates of whites is a good example of scapegoating. I agree. Michael understands something paradoxically true about scapegoating: that guilty people, even murderers, can be scapegoats. Having black bodies in prison does wonders for the self-esteem of whites. If “they” are guilty, and I... Read more

A Quiet Bright Life: On Candlemas in the Bleak Midwinter

Last updated on: January 28, 2014 at 7:26 pm By Jerusalem Jackson Greer

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“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” — Edith Wharton I discovered the celebration of Candlemas three years ago while doing research for my first book, and fell instantly in-love with this quiet mid-winter celebration of hope and light, that marks the presentation of Christ, barely over a month old, at the temple. Early February is generally the time of year when everyone begins to grow weary of winter’s persistent darkness,... Read more

Swords into Plowshares: Turn the Other Cheek and Let Freedom Ring

Last updated on: October 10, 2016 at 1:43 am By Guest Contributor

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By Jim Kast-Keat Associate Minister for Education Middle Collegiate Church, New York City People often speak about swords and plowshares as if one ominously threatens to poke your eye out while the other lulls you to cuddle up and go to sleep. The truth is that both these objects are deadly. Yet one threatens life while the other cultivates it. A plowshare is just as sharp as a sword, maybe even sharper. The difference isn’t in the blade but in... Read more

Progressive Christian Calendar 2014

Last updated on: January 14, 2014 at 11:44 pm By Jim Burklo

Evolution Sunday: Sunday, Feb 9, 2014 – an opportunity for serious discussion and reflection in worship on the compatibility of religion and science. My book, BIRDLIKE AND BARNLESS: Meditations, Prayers, and Songs for Progressive Christians, is a “book of common prayer” for progressive Christians. These “Sundays” are described more fully in it: Blessing of the Taxes: Sunday, April 13, 2014 – a time in worship to consecrate our tax payments for the work of the common good, and to pray... Read more

Mimetic Mondays: Christianity 21 Talk: Mimetic Theory and the Nonviolent God

Last updated on: January 13, 2014 at 11:00 pm By Adam Ericksen

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(Mimetic Theory and the Nonviolent God was delivered at the Christianity 21 Conference in Denver as part of the conference’s 7-21 Talks. Participants have 21 slides that automatically advance every 20 seconds, which equals 7 minutes. The talk describes why mimetic theory is essential to the future of Christianity. The text is below. For more on mimetic theory and Christianity, see the Patheos site Teaching Nonviolent Atonement.) When I was in seminary one of my best friends came up with a brilliant theological …... Read more

Message in a Bottle

Last updated on: January 8, 2014 at 11:53 pm By Jim Burklo

A message in a bottle In an ocean swirled with trash Would there be someone to read it If the ecosystem crashed? I could write that I was sorry That I left the earth a mess: And promise not to foul it Any more than all the rest. I could swear that this one bottle Was the last I’d ever toss, That next time I’d recycle – No more carbon would be lost. I could write a solemn promise Not... Read more

14 Hopes for 2014

Last updated on: January 6, 2014 at 7:54 pm By Shane Claiborne

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Each year I remix some of my hopes and dreams for the New Year, bringing some of last year along, and adding a few new ones… I realize this will become cumbersome in a few years. Nonetheless, here’s the latest remix, 14 Hopes for 2014: 1) SQUASH NEGATIVITY. I commit to shut down murmuring and cynicism and gossip and slander and all forms of passive aggression (even on the blogosphere!) – and to exorcise the demons of negativity. St. Benedict... Read more

Mimetic Mondays: 2013 Scandals – Attraction, Repulsion, and the Top 5 Ways to Become Scandal-less in 2014

Last updated on: February 7, 2015 at 12:09 am By Adam Ericksen

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As defined by mimetic theory, scandal gives offense and arouses indignation. Mimetic theory spells out its interactive core, involving a complex or structure of interpersonal relations that extends to all levels of social organization. From the Greek word meaning “stumbling block,” scandal names the offense that our conduct gives to others and that insidiously trips them up, as it models their hostile conduct towards us, whether it is by reproving or replicating, that is, unwittingly miming our own. Scandal names... Read more

God’s Gracious Deeds? Reflections on Isaiah 63:7-9 for December 29, 2013

Last updated on: December 27, 2013 at 8:00 pm By Guest Contributor

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By John Holbert Lectionary Reflections on Isaiah 63:7-9 It seems altogether appropriate that on this final Sunday of the year 2013 that we look back a bit on the year that is about to end. In my NRSV Bible, the title that stands over our tiny passage for the day (NOTE: these titles are decidedly not part of the received scriptural text!) states, “God’s Mercy Remembered.” And so it appears to be just that, a warm thanksgiving for all that... Read more