The human immune system keeps us healthy and alive through violence against intruders who would do us harm. “Natural killers,” aptly named, are one type of cells in our immune system. Without the benefit of any prior exposure, they naturally seek out and destroy harmful cells. We rely on such violence within our bodies to be healthy.

Religious communities have a rich opportunity to contribute to a global goal of restoring forest ecosystems as part of the current UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

In mystical activism, we live more and more in the divine flow of here and now, and experience the sacred world in everything we do – raising our children, loving our family and our friends, performing our work, being kind and considerate, caring for community and environment, pursuing climate activism, and even in the simplest human acts of eating and drinking and loving – they are all sacred in awakened consciousness.

We must call on our faith to develop more than just understanding – we must practice empathy. In the words of Howard Thurman, “it is a grievous blunder to assume that understanding is always sympathetic.” Christ did not say, “understand your neighbor.” He said, “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

As violence and division erupt here at home and around the world, we are forced again to ask of ourselves: who are we? What is the essential nature of human beings? Are we inclined to do good, or are we bound to pursue what might be named evil? Good, or bad? A seemingly simple question but one that drags in its wake a multitude of ramifications that are not so simple.

For the sake of learning, I’d like to ask you to consider the circumstances since the start of 2020 as a grand psychological experiment.

Profound shifts in consciousness are driving the accumulated crises of the world. I believe the timeless and universal vision of this work is critical to our survival. 

It’s Part One of Salt Project’s two-part series, “The Bible and Climate Change” — rethinking scripture from the ground up in the face of the greatest global challenge in human history. In this episode, we start with Genesis, and uncover how “climate change” — though it’s never mentioned in the Bible — is on virtually every page.

I see a great opportunity for ProgressiveChristianity.org to move in a new direction. I must admit to making this recommendation in fear and trembling because I know nothing about the internal operation of an organization I dearly love.

Exploiting the earth manifests in a number of ways including environmental racism. Listen to Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines discuss Point 7 of Progressive Christianity: protecting and restoring the integrity of the Earth.

The Seminary of the Wild Eco-Ministry Certificate Yearlong Program is an experiential, nature-based, yearlong offering to help you remember your primary participation in sacred Earth. In the face of profound ecological and social challenges, a New Story is emerging. At the core of that Story is a weaving of an ancient path and a new way of relating to Earth, other species, each other, and the Divine.

February 23, 1758 is an infamous date in American history. On that day, 263 years ago, Jonathan Edwards, Puritan minister and new president of Princeton, had his family inoculated against smallpox.

I know in my heart if Jesus were bearing witness to the world as it is today, if he walked among us in sandals and robe he would want us to take care of each other, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

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?

Chats with Larry is a podcast of phone call conversations of Rabbi Brian with his best buddy, Larry Keene, a retired minister and sociology professor.

Serendipity is my favorite word and speaks volumes to me about life as I have come to understand it. Serendipity is defined as, “The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.”

The timeless and universal aspects of life are known as beauty, truth, and goodness. They are endowed properties of all beings, some more than others. In mortals, they are sprinkled in just enough quantity to preserve and leaven the whole, but not nearly enough to straighten the irregular timbers of humanity wholesale.

The inaugural poem of Amanda Gorman – at 22, the youngest inaugural poet laureate in U.S. history – lifted our spirits as it dazzled our imagination.  Indeed, as her lofty words filled the air at our nation’s capitol, hope was given a new face.