“Beatitude is a possession of all things held to be good, from which nothing is absent that a good desire may want. Perhaps the meaning of beatitude may become clearer to us if it is compared with its opposite. Now the opposite of beatitude is misery. Misery means being afflicted unwillingly with painful sufferings.” – St. Gregory of Nyssa “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is... Read more
Many years ago, I was sitting in a cozy living room with a close group of women friends, drinking steaming mugs of herbal tea, when one of our friends asked the group, "What does God look like to you?" While the question at first seemed daunting, the ensuing conversation turned out to be as delicious as the cookies that accompanied our tea. Read more
"Like many progressives, I was disheartened by last night’s election results. But now is not the time for apocalyptic thinking – to foresee the end of the progressive era or the repeal of what we have fought hard to achieve. Despite short-term reversals, progressives – in faith and politics – are by nature optimistic and future-oriented. In spirituality, progressives believe that the future is open and that the divine calls us to look forward rather than backward to find our destiny." Bruce Epperly calling us forward after yesterday's election results... Read more
We tend to create desire out of the desire of the other. The other could be law, society, God, peers and Other others. We attempt to try to fill these gaps of desire with things that cannot truly fill them. They are representations of representations. And so they aren't Real, they are simply real. The idea of love is a shadow to love. All of our ideas of love make up what love should/could be. Read more
"It seems as though all pretense of civility in our nation is evaporating in the heat and light of an increasingly divisive atmosphere fueled by a rabid 24/7 media. As a person of faith, I join in the chorus of those who call us all to a higher ideal. I believe we can be better than this." Peter Wallace from Day1.org on following the call of Jesus into the voting booth. Read more
With two days until the election, the Rev. Laura Rose considers the role of faith in politics. Read more
Emergence: “”Rules, or laws, have no causal efficacy; they do not in fact “generate” anything. They serve merely to describe regularities and consistent relationships in nature. These patterns may be very illuminating and important, but the underlying causal agencies must be separately specified (though often they are not). But that aside, the game of chess illustrates precisely why any laws or rules of emergence and evolution are insufficient. Even in a chess game, you cannot use the rules to predict... Read more
Pastor Jim Burklo answers questions on the mythology of angels and the contemporary view on miracles in his popular series, Angels & Demons, this week. Read more
Pastor and Religious Dean Jim Burklo continues the conversation on angels and archangels with a discussion of the aggressive nature of biblical angels, including the most famous warrior-angel, Michael. Read more
So what do you see as you look out on the day? We are surrounded by a great host of witnesses and as we move toward November 1st and the celebration of All Saints Day. We don't need to focus on the scary images associated with Halloween but look beyond with the vision that God gives us to the gathering of the mighty hosts of God's people. Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In