PREACHING AFTER GOD: Derrida, Caputo, and the Language of Postmodern Homiletics. By Phil Snider.  Eugene, OR:  Cascade Books, 2012.  X + 227 pages. We who are preachers have been trained, in one way or another, to deliver monologues to congregations who are expected to sit and listen attentively.  Apparently this traditional form of religious communication is no longer connecting with the masses.  But it’s not just the forms of delivery that are problematic; it is also the content that is being... Read more

The developing data on the religiously unaffiliated and their political leanings is certainly important, and Katherine Stewart is right to raise questions about why this has been ignored by the mainstream media and political organizations (though not here on RD). However, her push to characterize the unaffiliated as “unbelievers” and “atheists” is refuted by the data to which she refers. By far, as the recent Pew report and other studies have shown, so-called “Nones” are believers in God or a higher power (68%), see themselves... Read more

Corruption has gone too far. The righteous must break away. Hope now rests with a holy remnant that will honor foundational texts. The message sounds familiar. A church schism? No, mounting calls for secession from the United States. Since President Obama won re-election, more than 750,000 Americans have petitioned the White House website to let their respective states secede, from Alaska to Iowa to Maryland and Vermont. Those leading the charge are framing it, observers say, in terms that suggest... Read more

As people are faced with crises from every angle, tossed into the midst of human-made tragedies and natural calamities, they ask, “Where is God?” As traditional securities crumble then do we agree with the famous quote of Nietzsche, “God is dead”? Religion as a human panacea to comfort, explain and redeem has, in practice, dissipated lately. Theoretically many positive claims for religion are made but practically speaking, when all is said and done, there is an enormous void as evidenced... Read more

by Rashad GroveR3 blogger“Somebody has to do the thinking for women.” These were the words that fell from the lips of Joe, the husband of Janie, as written in the classic novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.  This characterization is the fundamental premise to the male privilege ideological framework. Whether explicit or implicit, this is the seedbed of thought formation that is the fertile ground from whence the patriarchal imagination emerges.  It is the divine... Read more

Mitt Romney refused to mix religion with politics in this year’s presidential campaign, but that didn’t repress people’s curiosity about Mormonism. His candidacy brought the homegrown faith into the spotlight. Patrick Mason, a professor and chairman of the Mormon Studies program at Claremont Graduate University, says attention paid to his faith has been twofold. On one hand, it’s been good for attracting new converts. On the other hand, it’s turned Mormonism into something of a cultural punch line. “South Park is... Read more

One of America’s most renowned pastors, scholars and thought leaders on preaching and worship has been appointed to the CTS faculty and will lead a new institute at CTS. Dr. Frank A. Thomas will lead the institute, itself part of the seminary’s new Center for Pastoral Excellence. He will also become the Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Homiletics. Dr. Thomas joins Christian Theological Seminary from Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Memphis, Tenn. where he... Read more

This interview is part of a series profiling leaders of the Faith and Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute, a project of CAP’s Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative. The Institute provides faith-based leaders working on reproductive justice with training and resources in order to strengthen and raise the visibility of their work. You can learn more about this project here. Caryn D. Riswold is a feminist theologian in the Lutheran tradition. She is associate professor of religion and chair of gender and... Read more

On November 18, 2012, Dr. Monica A. Coleman spoke at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA in the Rector’s Forum on “Wrestling with God and Depression.” She referenced the story in the gospel of Mark where Jesus meets the man named Legion and casts out the and casts demons out of him. She talked about what she thought that had to do with depression, mental health and living whole lives. Read more

The 24-hour prayer sessions are the true test of a warrior for Jesus.  They require Herculean stamina, the patience of Job, the rigor of elite marathon runners hitting the wall in a fiery sweat pit at high altitude, primed for God’s finish line. In many small storefront Pentecostal churches these “pray-a-thons” are women’s spaces; hubs of music, food, caregiving, and intense witnessing.  My student Stacy Castro* is a bass player in her Pentecostal church’s band.  She is also the pastor’s... Read more