Rob Bell has long swum with the sharks. Everyone assumed he was a shark. But now the sharks are angry, and I can see why: Rob Bell sure looks like a dolphin these days. And my question is: where did he get these new flippers? Read more
Rob Bell has long swum with the sharks. Everyone assumed he was a shark. But now the sharks are angry, and I can see why: Rob Bell sure looks like a dolphin these days. And my question is: where did he get these new flippers? Read more
A Review of Rob Bell’s new book: What We Talk About When We Talk About God (2013: HarperOne) A few years ago I wrote a “musing” about Rob Bell’s book, LOVE WINS, in which this former evangelical megachurch pastor abandoned the idea that anybody is going to hell. He now espouses the Christian theology known as universalism: that Jesus saves absolutely everyone. On the cross, love won, and from then on, nobody has been hellbound. One way or another, in... Read more
By Anne Howard, Executive Director The Beatitudes Society Francis. Francis is on my mind right now as we travel toward Palm Sunday, and Holy Week rises into view. I should say that Holy Week looms into view, as this can be a daunting time of year for church folks: preachers and palm-frond gatherers and liturgists and lily arrangers and foot-washers and bulletin preparers are all making sure their “Ts” are crossed and their “Is” are dotted. It’s not a simple thing to... Read more
I’m involved in an initiative here at USC to encourage the use of contemplative and meditative techniques in teaching and learning, in all kinds of classrooms. The last gathering of our Contemplative Pedagogy Faculty Interest Group was led by James Collins, assistant professor of classics. He introduced us to theater games which he employs with students to get them to go deeper in contemplating philosophical questions. One of the warm-up “improv” exercises was for us dignified professor-types to wander around... Read more
A week ago, I attended a conference at Chapman University in Orange, CA, devoted to the topic of free will. The speakers included a physicist, a Sikh spiritual teacher, a rabbi, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and a couple of philosophers. The physicist mused about the possibility, at least at the quantum level, of future events influencing the present in something like the way the present is shaped by the past, thus challenging the idea that past actions entirely control present... Read more
(This poem, which I wrote during Lent in 1981, appears in my book, BIRDLIKE AND BARNLESS – it is based on Numbers 21: 4-9, John 3: 13-15) THE GIFT No one’s raised who did not fall No one saves whom God did not send No one stands whose knees won’t bend No helper’s not been helped at all While being raised we each shall die The poison has an antidote God may sleep in my storm-tossed boat But when she... Read more
Our Facebook Lenten Question of the Week series launched last week with this: How Might a Progressive Christian Approach Lent? Throughout the week, our fantastic bloggers posted a number of thoughtful and inspiring responses. Some of the standouts included: Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove: The Fast We’ve Chosen: Begging with our Friends Kurt Willems: Ash Wednesday: Because Sometimes Rich Christians Simply Need to Starve a Little David Henson: Reclaiming Repentance as a Progressive Christian Nadia Bolz-Weber: The Crap We Give our Hearts To Bruce Epperly:... Read more
By Jeff Fulmer Okay, this is an easy one. I was getting tired of all the polling and endless speculating before the 2012 elections. Two days after President Obama was re-elected, the Republicans were threatening to run us off the fiscal cliff and were still trying to find a cover-up in Benghazi. It’s draining and, frankly, I’m bored with the same old arguments that bounce around the media echo-chamber by the same old talking heads. I feel like I’m watching... Read more
Once considered the liturgical purview of the Catholics, Lent – the 40-day period from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday before Easter – has become more and more embraced as a liturgical season with legs within the Protestant church. With the comfort level of spiritual practices on the rise in mainstream congregations for the past decade, progressive Christians now regularly claim Lent as a season for deep reflection, prayer, repentance, and overall spiritual growth. So the question is: How will you walk... Read more
This weekend I was set to speak in Detroit. A few hours before the event, I got news that our brother Richard Twiss had crossed over to the other side, after a massive heart attack a few days ago. With tears running down my face, we started the event by lighting a candle for Richard and putting his big ole smiling face up on the screen – and we carried him with us through the evening. Before I went to... Read more
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