As hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have shown the world -- gathered across what many have seen as insurmountable spiritual and social divides – the way forward is fueled by faith, hope and love. Read more

Imagine no religion? Are we crazy? Without religion we have only animal instincts and pop culture to guide us; hence the youth culture of sexting – just to pick an example. Read more

"Within the despairingly complicated quagmire of issues in Jerusalem, we encountered several pictures of hope." A post by Frank Rogers from the trip-blog, "Ancient Stones, Living Stones." Read more

"Have a nice day" is not the sort of thing Jesus ever said to anyone when leaving them or when they were leaving him. He said things like, "Go and sin no more," or "Rise, take up your bed and walk," and "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . ." In these verses (Matthew 5:13-16), he is saying, "Go, be salt and light." Of course, lots of people, then and now, respond with, "Sorry, I have other plans." Read more

Naturally there is nothing in the Bible about guns themselves, and there is little in scripture about rights, as we understand and claim them in America, including the right to bear arms (although a considerable amount about responsibilities). In the scriptural record, though, we can uncover two pertinent themes, both of which require some interpretation: righteous violence and radical pacifism. Read more

I like Facebook, but I have somehow ended up with lots of friends I don't even know. Maybe that's how Jesus feels. Lots of people ask to be his friends, and when he confirms them, they never give him another thought. Lots of people claim to be his friends and really are barely acquainted with his life story and body of teachings, much less willing to live by them. Read more

You would think someone who has experienced so much would walk away from anything that looks remotely like the very place he came from. But there is hope. Jay Bakker is an ardent grace-junkie. He drinks it. Shoots it up. Sniffs it. Loves it. And he encourages everyone to do the same. Read more

Moments into his new administrative responsibilities the governor of Alabama told a congregation that those who are not Christians are not his brothers and sisters. As Anne Lamott once observed in a different connection, it is the kind of statement that would drive Jesus to drink gin from the cat’s dish. Patheos columnist and Episcopal Priest Fred Scmidt responds to the new Governor's religious words... Read more

In case you haven't met her yet, let me introduce you to one of our fabulous new bloggers at Patheos, The Anchoress (Elizabeth Scalia). Her daily posts are passionate, touching, humorous and always grounded in her life as a person of faith. And they often leave me either laughing out loud, or teary-eyed. Read more