“You can’t just be a spiritual consumer. You have to be a spiritual producer because other people need what you have.” – Father Lou DelFra (quoted in Got Religion? by Naomi Schaefer Riley) Read more
“You can’t just be a spiritual consumer. You have to be a spiritual producer because other people need what you have.” – Father Lou DelFra (quoted in Got Religion? by Naomi Schaefer Riley) Read more
I’m delighted to be part of the Patheos book club about Naomi Schaefer Riley’s book Got Religion?: How Churches, Mosques, and Synagogues Can Bring Young People Back. Don’t miss that there is a giveaway if you don’t already have a copy of the book! The book seeks to make sense of the current generation of young people, what they are looking for from religious congregations, and how congregations are meeting those needs in creative ways. One key facet of younger... Read more
HT Kissing Fish on Facebook. Here is what Meredith Gould originally wrote, based on what Teresa of Avila wrote, and on which the video above is based: Christ Has No Online Presence but Yours Christ has no online presence but yours, No blog, no Facebook page but yours, Yours are the tweets through which love touches this world, Yours are the posts through which the Gospel is shared, Yours are the updates through which hope is revealed. Christ has no... Read more
I saw the movie The Fault in Our Stars recently, not having read the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Rachel Marie Stone writes about it, If there is a fault in The Fault in Our Stars (apart from the occasionally irritating teenage dialogue), it is that it dismisses religion based on the worst sorts of caricatures — and the movie is far guiltier of this than is the book. The support group through which Hazel and Augustus meet is held in a church... Read more
Awkward Moments Children’s Bible shared the image above on Facebook, with the following commentary: What if there wasn’t a heaven or a hell? Would you still believe? What proof do you have of either? Isn’t it more honest to admit doubts rather than to simply “believe” in hopes of earning a prize? Which is more moral? Which would be more pleasing to a reasonable God? These are great questions – and if you are afraid to ask them, then you... Read more
Via Rebecca Trotter Read more
David Hayward’s cartoon above illustrates the reason why I consider Biblical literalism to be an attack on Christianity, rather than an expression of faithfulness to it. No matter how much they insist otherwise, no one actually takes the Bible literally – not even all the bits that are “clearly” non-poetic. But that doesn’t stop preachers from telling people they have a stark choice: either accept everything the Bible says, or toss the entire thing aside along with any faith, beliefs,... Read more
As I’ve been working on the commentary on the Mandaean Book of John this summer, I’ve been struck from time to time by seemingly close parallels and points of intersection with the New Testament. For instance, here’s an excerpt from the start of chapter 13, from which the quote above is taken: It is to you that I am speaking and teaching, the chosen and perfect people who are living in this world. Don’t be part of the darkness, but... Read more
An Australian website asks people to fill in the blank. The answers have been shared not just on their website but by churches, as in this photo from St. Matthew's Church in Manly. Their willingness to let proposed answers appear in all their diversity, rather than only presenting ones they might be expected to approve of, is refreshing. What would you write in the blank? What would your little square say? Read more
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