In our small local Greek Orthodox church my wife Genie and I both like the Lenten Service of Forgiveness. It ends with each person in our parish walking to the front of the sanctuary, kissing the icon of Jesus, then bowing in front of our priest. “Forgive me,” we say. “I forgive you,” answers our priest, as does each member of the congregation. We embrace and then together we say: “God forgives us both.” After that exchange my each person... Read more
IV: Never talk about your child to other people in front of them, unless it is to praise your son or daughter. You need to be their number one confidant, not a blabber mouth “sharing” what they did and saying it’s “cute” (let alone saying they did something bad) or laughing at what they did and making them self conscious. You can’t feel safe with a parent who seems to think you’re an entertainment experience. And, sure, post a picture... Read more
III: Never make sarcastic remarks to a child much less say snide or ironic things meant to put them in their place. The worst parent (aside from a neglectful abuser) is a score-settling parent. Mea culpa! If you want your child to trust you they can’t be thinking you’ll put them down or make them the butt of a joke they don’t even understand. You’re not competing with them or trying to be the funniest person in the room. It... Read more
I can save parents and would-be parents’ grief and a good bit of self flagellation. So here’s the next of my Twelve Commandments of Happy Parenting. Thus saith Thy Blogger, thow shalt– II: Never give a child your divided attention once you’re playing with them, unless it’s an emergency. That doesn’t mean you should give them your attention all the time. Far from it. Playing alone is good. But don’t be rude when you are being a hands-on parent. Watching... Read more
If I could have one wish, it would be to get a parent do-over knowing what I know now as a happy grandparent. My kids survived me and wound up as my friends but nevertheless I cringe when I remember just how stupid and cruel I was as a young father. But my children were resilient and survived my stupidity and are now my closest friends. Saying you’re deeply sorry is the best thing to do when you know you were... Read more
The sex abuse scandals that shadowed John Paul’s last years have become the defining story of his successor’s papacy, and the unexpected abdication of Benedict XVI has only confirmed the narrative of a church in disarray…. READ THE REST HERE Read more
Take Sean Hannity– Charges: Left the seminary upon realizing he could abuse, manipulate, and molest more people as a conservative broadcaster… READ THE REST HERE And the idiots continue…. Read more
Tony Jones has done us all a HUGE favor. His new book A Better Atonement has just been published. It’s free today (only) so do what I did and download it now, read it, and thank Tony — and God but maybe not in that order – for the fact that it turns out that A), God isn’t as horrible as you thought he was, and B), Tony just saved God from the black eye Augustine gave him. As Tony puts it:... Read more
The act of leaving Westboro is as weird as the church itself. Sometimes it’s described as a shunning process, but that’s not entirely apt. It is, in the eyes of the remaining members, a sort of death… Phelps granddaughter Megan didn’t leave alone; her sister Grace decided to go with her. They stayed just one night in Topeka. Then, after returning to their family home to retrieve some things they’d not packed the night before—“it was so weird and... Read more
I don’t think there will be some new age of religion dawning in America anytime soon unless a lot of people change their minds about worship. The dream of progressive Christians whether they call themselves “emergent” or something else will fizzle along with the slowly collapsing evangelical/fundamentalist juggernaut unless the basic mistakes of North American Christianity are addressed. We can talk about inclusiveness, diversity and making ourselves vulnerable until the cows come home but that doesn’t make religion more interesting... Read more
Why I Still Talk to Jesus -- In Spite of Everything
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