There seems to be a furor among some today over Dr. Seuss Enterprise’s decision to withdraw six Dr. Seuss children’s books from publication and about the mortal danger of “cancel culture” to American civilization. So here is a salute to…
St. Benedict and a two-fold path for the church In America
How are we to live as part of the church in America in these terrible times for the church and society? The perils of Christian nationalism were on full display on Jan. 6 as insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol in…
Two words, two virtues, to help America move forward
On Inauguration Day evening, I went to bed exhausted with the mix of the day’s emotions. Joy over the beginning of a new administration; relief there had been no violence; and sorrow — sorrow over all the human lives lost…
Make new paths in the new year
Outside the library at St. John’s Abbey and College is a sign on the green lawn that’s not the expected “Don’t Walk on the Grass” but instead, “Don’t Make Paths.” As long as you don’t beat the grass into paths…
The tangled beauty of America and original sin
The six Southern Baptist seminary presidents have condemned Critical Race Theory and forbade its use in seminary education. With this, they fell into lockstep with President Trump whose executive order forbade its use in federal agencies. He said Critical Race…
Seven ways to embrace a reality-based religion
In these days of “alternative facts,” pronouncements that “truth is relative,” where science is disregarded as just another opinion, and where we are taught to distrust any news except the news on “my” channel, let’s consider what a reality-based religion…
Four toxins to address in healing from this wretched season
What healing can come from this wretched season, and how can I write about it healingly? I’m thinking of this pandemic season stretching on and on with more thousands dying and more upended lives. I’m thinking about this political season,…
Baptists and the rising tide of authoritarianism
One common thread that runs through most of the supporters of President Donald Trump is authoritarianism. “Politics makes odd bedfellows,” the saying goes; and the taste for authoritarianism has drawn together an unlikely crowd. Many people crave a “strongman” leader,…
Who wants the crown Jesus refused in the wilderness?
In a widely circulating op-ed in the New York Times, Elizabeth Dias describes a speech then presidential candidate Donald Trump gave at a small evangelical college, Dordt University in Center City, Iowa. The most famous, or infamous, remark in his…