A group of religious extremists - namely, the majority of members of the Supreme Court - are going to nullify a 50-year old legal precedent in order to reach their long-time goal of taking away a fundamental and sacred human right: the right of a woman to choose to terminate pregnancy.
The practice of contemplating the Stations of the Cross, depicting the final hours of Jesus’ life, is a very old one. Many Catholic churches have gardens or sanctuaries in which the stations are situated. Each of the 14 stations marks a point along the way to Jesus’ death.
Do you love who you are becoming? Are you enjoying the giddy delight of tumbling down the flume? Because in your delight in becoming, the Knower within you will transform your relationship to time, and usher you into the eternal now - the kin-dom of heaven on earth - where there is nothing to grasp, and everything to love...
It ends with this sentence: “Even on the days when I’m not sure I can believe it wholeheartedly, this is the story I’m willing to be wrong about.” And that humility suffuses the whole book.
Souljourning empowers parents, children, and communities to nurture the natural spirituality of people aged 0-21. Souljourning offers resources, publications, events, and consultation for parents and groups.
Is there purpose driving evolution?" In other words, it would seem that a theology of God and evolution demands human responsibility to see that plan through to fruition.
When will we ever learn? It is time to get serious about studying current events and the history that has led up to them. So that we don't make the mistakes we made in Afghanistan - and Iraq and Central America and Vietnam - ever again.
What brings us closer together around the communion table of divine love? What drives us apart? But or And, Against or Through, For or With?
What would happen if other faithful people began to ask questions instead of arguing with answers they don’t like? What would happen if we followed St. Paul’s advice and stopped returning evil for evil? What would happen if we asked serious questions instead of behaving defensively in response to religious or political bombast?
Fundamentalist leaders used to describe progressive Christians as a shrinking heretical sect, if they noticed us at all. Now they condemn us as an existential threat to the survival of evangelicalism. Their rhetoric should inspire in us a healthy vigilance, as America drifts into deeper polarization and ominous threats of violence.
How can we stop the hate and bring the far right & left together to find the middle we can walk together and work for the USA’s survival?
Not long ago, I "mused" about my new friend at USC, Shane Cole - whom I refer to affectionately as a "digital Mennonite". He's
We are all Americans – of all ethnicities, cultures, and political persuasions. We won’t allow ourselves to be divided. We stand up, speak out, and we vote for preserving our democracy through free and fair elections to express the will of our majority, so that we can secure liberty and justice for all.
Wisdom not much different than what St Benedict, a founder of Christian monasticism, observed about the contemplative life: “Always we begin again.” Or what the 20th century Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, wrote about prayer: “We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners.”
Simply put, love is attention. It is not complicated to pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, sensations, and urges. It is not rocket science to stop, sit, and listen to another person who needs your time and focus.
What is sacrificed at the altar of transactional relationships? Vulnerability. You don’t want folks to see the twists and turns of your life that might un-burnish your reputation. But without vulnerability, there’s no real friendship.
Jim Burklo attunes the reader to Jesus' voice in "Tenderly Calling". It is an invitation for those starting the path of Jesus, as well as for those setting out afresh. He invites the reader into the depths of the Bible's transformative myth and poetry, into the practices of Christian contemplation, and into action, building the kingdom of heaven and earth.
The St Thomas Collective provides a safe community for Biola students/alumni who find themselves doubting, frustrated, and spiritually homeless.
These three words sum up progressive Christian theology. They represent a turning point in the evolution of human understanding of Ultimate Reality. The Bible starts with Superman-In-The-Sky and ends with agape – unconditional love - as the identity of the Divine.
Jesus may have been humble. But in the last couple of months, I’ve learned a thing or two about donkeys. And I can say this: Jesus wasn’t humble because he rode into town on a donkey. A donkey is as noble an animal as any horse.
I want to be a Christian and I want to show my daughter who God is and can be, but I’m at a loss. Do I stay where I am or do I join a less Christian church? Either way I will feel like an outsider.
There are many questions that mainstream science can't answer, at least at the moment. Ethical and moral questions, such as: who should get the Covid vaccine first? And how can such a prioritization be made understandable and acceptable to the public?
Let us feast on simple pleasures, and fast from all that gets our bodies and souls out of balance.