It’s rare to hear political leaders speak with candor when it comes to religion. Imagine the angry newspaper headlines if a world-famous legislator dared to say: “I fear for the future of authentic faith in our country. We live in a time when the common man … is thoroughly influenced by the current climate in which the cultural and educational elite propagates an anti-Christian message. We should take a look at what has happened in France and learn a lesson... Read more
When it comes to same-sex unions, the Episcopal Church has been using a kind of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The church’s General Convention has never authorized an official rite to bless homosexual relationships. Bishops have, however, been allowed to approve blessings at the local level or simply look the other way. The national church didn’t ask and local bishops didn’t have to tell. The big question is whether this tactic will work after the latest meeting of the world’s... Read more
Catholics in the urban Northeast are getting used to the headlines. Parishioners in East Harlem have decided to conduct a vigil in a beloved old sanctuary because church leaders plan to lock the doors — forever. The Archdiocese of New York recently said it would close or merge 21 churches in order to gather more people in fewer pews to be served by a declining number of priests. A parishioner at Our Lady Queen of Angels told the New York... Read more
After years of single life in New York City, Dawn Eden knows how to study the crowd at a social event. She knows how to let her gaze wander from man to man, while a voice in her head whispers, “That one’s handsome,” “That one’s with someone,” “That one’s too old,” “That one’s got a wedding ring,” “That one looks too interested in the man he’s speaking to.” Eden heard that voice a lot during her years as a rock-music... Read more
Doug TenNapel isn’t your ordinary guy who doodles on a church bulletin when the sermon gets boring. Instead, the Eisner Award-winning cartoonist scribbles in his daily calendar — creating a bridge from the pew to his studio. The result is a pocket universe of character sketches, strange movie ideas and graphic “plot wheels” in which he works out the twists and turns in his stories. These days, swarms of Kid Elves on flying logs bump into sketches of Bigfoot, next... Read more
Donald Seitz had suffered through a long day during a bad week at his office on Nashville’s famous Music Row. On his way home from a business call, he drove past the Greater Pleasant View Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn. As usual, the no-tech sign out front offered a folksy thought for the week. This one caught his eye. “He who kneels before God can stand before anyone,” it said, in black, movable letters inserted by hand into slots on... Read more
The sanctuary was dark, except for candles near the altar, and it was quiet, other than the priest’s prayers and hushed responses from the pews. It was time for another execution in a North Carolina prison and, on this night more than two decades ago, I was kneeling with others opposed to the death penalty — not covering the rite as a Charlotte Observer reporter. What I failed to realize was that other journalists would crash our vigil. The television... Read more
Faithful members of Oprah Winfrey’s TV flock know what’s happening when guests start talking and their leader keeps saying “Amen,” “Preach it” or even, “Sister, I understand the whole God connection!” The host wants the guest to start “testifying,” a confessional process in which believers look for God’s healing hand in life’s hard lessons. Winfrey learned all about “testifying” as a girl back in the Faith United Mississippi Baptist Church, where jealous peers often called her “Miss Jesus.” But here’s... Read more
Journalists may not know the precise meaning of the word “theodicy,” but, year after year, they know a good “theodicy” story when they see one. The American Heritage Dictionary defines this term as a “vindication of God’s goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil.” Wikipedia calls it a “branch of theology … that attempts to reconcile the existence of evil in the world with the assumption of a benevolent God.” There were three “theodicy” events in... Read more
Imagine the following event in your mind’s eye. President George W. Bush is addressing the United Nations amid global tensions about nuclear weapons. He closes with evangelical language that expresses his yearning for the triumphant second coming of Jesus Christ and prays that this apocalyptic event will unify the world — sooner rather than later. Do you think the speech would cause a media storm? Do you think journalists would dissect his mysterious words, along with his theology? Would this... Read more
Terry Mattingly
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