The great dining hall at New College, one of the oldest colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, was built not long after the college’s founding in 1379. It features a towering ceiling supported with huge oak…
Beyond the grammar of faith to acquisition
I’ve been known to get a little excited about grammar. Remember diagramming sentences? I loved it: the longer the sentence, the better. In high school, and then in college, I took Latin, a language known for aiding English speakers in…
Refugees — also known as family members
As I write this Wednesday, Oct. 5, the mandatory evacuation of 1.1 million people from the coastal low country of South Carolina has begun. People seeking to escape the arrival of Matthew the Hurricane are being told to move at…
At home in a foreign land
Last Sunday I taught a class at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., the second of a two-part conversation entitled, “Retelling the Jesus Story in a Post-Modern, Pluralistic, Post-Protestant-Privileged World: Who’s Listening?”The topic, sent in weeks earlier, was of…
A woman for president? Women, leadership and the Bible
La versión en español está disponible aquí. Some Saturdays ago, I was having breakfast by myself in my house and I decided to watch the news. As I turned on the TV, CNN news anchor, Victor Blackwell, was introducing the…
¿Una mujer para presidenta? Mujeres, liderazgo y la biblia
An English version is available here. Hace algunos sábados estaba desayunando sola en mi casa, y decidí ver las noticias. Tan pronto prendí el televisor, vi al reportero de CNN Victor Blackwell que estaba anunciando el próximo segmento: “De acuerdo…
Where are the white clergy on Charlotte’s streets?
I walked the streets of Charlotte, N.C., four nights last week. I walked alongside protesters clad in Black Lives Matter t-shirts and all the signs: “Am, I Next?” “Hands up. Don’t shoot.” “End white silence.” I walked in blue jeans…
A circus of an election when people’s lives are at stake
I think it is an objective fact that this presidential election is a circus, a national embarrassment. Every morning just the practice of reading the headlines takes uncommon fortitude; at this point I’m prepared to say that very little surprises…
Do universalists evangelize?
I am a hopeful universalist. I believe that all persons will eventually be healed, liberated and transformed by the unconditional love of God. And yet, I must concede that given the nature of human freedom there is no way to…
Post-apocalyptic Downton Abbey
“Downton Abbey” is a six-season drama based on one aristocratic family in England who navigates the treacherous period before and after World War I. As the 1920s come rushing in, the English aristocracy faces a cultural shift that will bring…
Beer, Harry Potter and the future of faith
“We’re new to the area” he said. “We moved here to plant a church.” When I asked him where they were planting the church, he mentioned a nearby development where the cheapest loft is $190,000 and the houses start at…
Joshua vs Jesus: Why white evangelicals love Donald Trump
Almost 80 percent of white American evangelicals plan to vote for Donald Trump, a twice-divorced womanizer who made his name building and gilding casinos. A man who insults Hispanics, Muslims, African Americans, women, and anyone else who disagrees with him….