Between these two disheartening poles, it’s not the muddled mush of some middle ground I’m seeking — which makes staking a claim to “free and faithful” even more difficult.
Faith, religious commitment may inspire workplace success
Catholics are more emotionally committed to their workplaces than are evangelicals, and people with strong attachments to God, regardless of their faith group, are more committed to their jobs when they work for smaller companies. Those and other findings about…
If you’re not outraged …
Several years ago, a bumper sticker popped up here and there that said, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” We need to print up some more of those for times like these. Love him or hate him, you’ve…
Embracing doubt for the sake of the Great Commission
I was at a denominational conference this week and heard a speaker say plainly, and at times quite forcefully, that there is no room for doubt in the Christian faith, that serious Christians should have pre-packaged and ready-made answers for…
The year clichés stopped making sense
There is something wrong with 2016. That may be the most self-evident and non-controversial statement to come up in your Facebook newsfeed in quite a while. In fact, it has become an almost universally acknowledged truth. So many of us…
Genius hesitates, both in science and religion
In his fantastic little book, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, a kind of primer on modern physics meant for lay readers, Carlo Rovelli tells the story about how in 1905, a 26-year-old graduate student named Albert Einstein published three short…
Finding Christ in Christianity: Have we stopped looking for him?
“Has anyone seen Jesus? I know that he is around here somewhere. He is always with us.” Jesus’ parents were traveling home after the festival of the Passover (Luke 2.41-51). It was two days before they noticed that he was…
Three ways family ties hinder us in our faith
The “faith of our fathers” offers a nice American ideal, but it also has become one of the key reasons adults fail to respond to the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. Those are likely startling words…
Relaxing in the mystery: when answers are always necessary
In his spiritual memoir, O Me of Little Faith, Jason Boyett writes about a forbidden topic: the doubt that so often accompanies faith. He recalls his upbringing in a Southern Baptist church in Texas where he learned Romans 3:23 and…