By Anne Sutherland Howard How one mother who lost a child to gun violence tried to make the world safer for others. In my Santa Barbara, California neighborhood, which we sometimes call “Leave it to Beaver Land” for its seeming serenity and peace, a new practice has become evident. Children no longer walk alone to our neighborhood elementary school. Every morning, a parade of mothers and fathers accompany their children the short distance to school, dogs in tow and cellphones... Read more
By Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder The role of race in the imposition of the death penalty is just one of the controversies that continues to surround the issue. Society has an affinity for death. There is a pervasive fascination with (im)mortality. We appreciate life, but we are seduced at the intricacies and unknowns of death. While there is much enjoyment and celebration over health, personal accomplishments, births, and birthdays, women and men around the world ponder the “what ifs” concerning the... Read more
By Raj Nadella The accelerated pace of climate change deterioration in recent decades is highlighted in the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was released in December 2013. This report highlights the alarming rates of carbon emissions in recent years and the massive disruptions to the nature that occur as a result. It warns that the disruptions could affect all areas of life and endanger the world’s food supply itself. The worst is yet to come. All... Read more
By Greg Carey People tell us about their belief in God. Easter Sunday marks the holiest, most exalted moment of the Christian year. In Easter services all over the world, trumpets and organs blast. Flowers transform churches with their brightness. Worship leaders boldly proclaim: “Christ is risen!” Congregations echo back: “Christ is risen indeed!” The cycle of celebration and repetition begins as it should – a festive proclamation of good news. In Christ God has overcome the powers of sin... Read more
By Adam J. Copeland People talk about the power of crowds to change the world. Have you ever noticed that society allows fans to do things that, short of fandom, we would deem absolutely crazy? When do grown adults have permission to paint their faces with logos except on the day of the big game? When is hugging perfect strangers acceptable? After a 3-point shot of your favorite team beats the buzzer, it’s expected. Screaming at the top of our... Read more
By Lisa Nichols Hickman People tell us how they want to be remembered after they die. Sunday, April 6th is National Epitaph Day. Reading through a list of bizarre and unique holidays is fascinating for any month. Looking at this list during Lent can provide new perspective. We know “April Fools Day” unfolds as March gives way to April. But the first week of April provides ample opportunity for celebrating events such as: National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, Don’t... Read more
By Henry G. Brinton Americans are spending a lot of time on social media, but how much and what for? This year some have given up Facebook for Lent. Others joined the “National Day of Unplugging” on March 7-8, putting away their phones, tablets, and laptops for a 24-hour digital Sabbath designed to slow people down in an increasingly hectic world. According to the National Day of Unplugging website, people unplugged in order to dance, sleep, write, play, reflect,... Read more
By Matthew L. Skinner Recently, a large wealthy church decided to break up with my denomination. I’m not 100 percent sure I know why. But the no-regrets explanation they wrote implied that religious differences between us were too severe for them to stay committed to our relationship. Religion has a way of making people do extraordinary things to create peace and unity. It also, as we know well, has a destructive capacity to turn people against one another. It can... Read more
By Melissa Browning People weigh in on the morality of aiding refugees and others suffering from natural and man-made crises. Abram left his homeland on a promise and a prayer. God called. Abram went. The Biblical text makes it seem so simple. There are no signs of struggle or doubt. There is no grief over what is left behind, only the forward look toward a new land and a new future. Leaving home for Abram seems so easy. As I... Read more
By Greg Carey The legacy of Eve continues to permeate images of women in our society. What was that Eve all about? We could let the advertising industry tell us. Katie B. Edwards’ recent book, Admen and Eve, uncovers (that was a pun) several diverse, even contradictory uses Eve serves. Obviously, the Eve story provides a free opportunity to depict naked or nearly naked models coupled in kinky ways with men—and with snakes. Eve, the temptress, overwhelms our resistance with... Read more
On Scripture - The Bible
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