With a vaccine for COVID-19 presumably coming sooner than later, the question of who will and who won’t choose to get the vaccine is looming large. And along with that are questions about the role of the church on matters…
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…
The election’s good news and bad news, with a side of hope
First the good news: The fact that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris prevailed over Donald Trump and Mike Pence is obviously the most important thing that happened on Nov. 3. The removal of Donald Trump from the office that he…
Thoughts on Halloween, saints and souls
In my quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Atlanta, our neighbors are competing with one another to mark Halloween in the oddly incoherent American way that has become our “normal.” We have our Harvest Festival types — friendly looking scarecrows, straw hats,…
An October prayer
Note: This is not a simulation. This is exactly the state of my prayer life right now. “It feels like a bill has come due and God is collecting.” —White House source to Joe Scarborough, Twitter, 8:38 a.m. October 7,…
Who is Jesus Christ for us today?
Deep and terrible divisions wrack American society. Sober observers are concerned that the sporadic protests and counterprotests, the riots and gun-toting militias we have spotted this summer could give way to intensified nationwide civil strife this late fall if the…
Reflecting on the effects of 9/11 and the disarray of America foreign policy
Nineteen years ago tomorrow, terrorists directed by Osama bin Laden successfully orchestrated an unforgettable attack that defined the next decade of American life. Hijacking four commercial jets, terrorists flew two into the World Trade Center towers and one into the…
History shows the view is best from the margins
Sometimes an obscure social science dissertation about historical events tells you exactly what you need to know about what is going on right now. I have just read a little-noticed 2019 book called Protectors of Pluralism: Religious Minorities and the…
Is a political realignment coming?
This awful year has offered few glimpses of hope. But one of them has been dawning since May. That is the possibility that Donald Trump and his decadent version of the Republican Party may go down to a substantial national…