TODAY IN GOD:RELIGION NEWS BITES FOR YOUR SNACKING PLEASURE ____________________________________________________________________________________Sometimes a hug is more than a hug: Female Pakistani minister in hot water for hugging a guy ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Islamic clerics at a radical mosque in Pakistan’s capital have demanded the tourism minister be fired for hugging a foreign man, saying she committed a “great sin.” Minister of Tourism Nilofar Bakhtiar rejected the Taliban-style edict Monday and said her family and friends were concerned for her safety. Two clerics... Read more

‘NOT EVEN THE RAIN HAS SUCH SMALL HANDS …’ A rainy Monday. Took a drive from Whitefish to Glacier National Park, despite the protestations of my friends and pretty much everyone else in Whitefish (including the rental car guy) who knew I was headed in that direction. “But it’s raining,” they said.Yah, I know, I said.“But it’s cloudy,” they said.Uh-huh, I said.“It’s foggy and you won’t be able to see all the mountains. It won’t be as good,” they all... Read more

BELATED EASTER GREETINGS FROM GOD’S COUNTRY We had a unique Easter here in Whitefish, Montana yesterday. It was a glorious day — God showing off again as God is wont to do (particularly on this particular Holy Day) — not a cloud in the sky, which was NY Mets blue all day. Our traveling companions (The Lone Rabbi and his bride) took a ride up to the Big Mountain ski area and rode the lift all the way to the... Read more

CHRISTOS ANESTI! Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she... Read more

HOLY SATURDAY: PONDER THIS … After Torah study this morning here in Bozeman, we’ll be spending most of the rest of the day in the car — where there is no blogging. So we thought we’d leave you with some words to mull as we await Easter’s rising tomorrow morning. These are not my words but those of the great Christian apologist and writer Frederick Buechner, whose work and wisdom we love madly. “When you remember me, it means that... Read more

BEHOLD, THE CREAM EGG: JUST SAY YES! As you know, the Cadbury Cream Egg is just one of Easter’s innumerable blessings and vessels of grace. These silly boys from the UK sent me their short this a.m. It’s heartbreaking when people don’t accept the gift freely given in love, isn’t it? I imagine Jesus feels similarly when one of us says yes. Fun fact (from Wiki): While filled eggs were first manufactured by the Cadbury Brothers in the early 1920s,... Read more

GODSTUFF: GOOD FRIDAY IN GOD’S COUNTRY BIG SKY, Mont. — Go outside. Sometime today, on this Friday the Christian tradition calls “Good,” walk out into the fresh air and just be for a few minutes. I realize, of course, that we are in the capricious it’s-summer-it’s-winter-it’s-summer-it’s-winter season that passes for spring in Chicago, and that outside is perhaps not the most inviting place to be. Still, go outside. If only for a moment. And look up. There, hopefully, you will... Read more

IT’S NOT MILLER TIME. IT’S MOOSE TIME. At the end of a long Maundy Thursday of writing about grace and Godstuff, when in God’s country (read: Montana, clearly), I like to unwind with a local(ish) libation. It’s got a funny name, but it’s a nice little wine. And yes, the glass is mine. GG Read more

TODAY IN GOD:RELIGION NEWS BITES FOR YOUR SNACKING PLEASURE ____________________________________________________________________________________A word from God Girl HQ:OK. The Montana book factory is hard at work today, so this will be the only Dudeist posting du jour. We’ll be back tomorrow with God Girl’s weekly column and other bits. First, just because it made us laugh, we give you, Pope Bono(vox): And now, back to the headlines: A country-western Muslim:With Egyptian roots and a southern drawl, Kareem Salama sings at a very American... Read more

THE PAPERBACKS ARE COMING! THE PAPERBACKS ARE COMING! Amazon.com is now taking pre-orders for the paperback edition of The God Factor, and promises to have them delivered to your door when the book is released May 29 — almost in time for those first, embarassingly pale Memorial Day beach outings. Order early. Order often. Read more