By Leroy Seat The View from This Seat
A new day for Cuba
“We don’t have to be imprisoned by the past.” Those were words spoken by President Obama last month when he announced that the U.S. and Cuba are reopening embassies in each other’s countries after more than a half a century…
Reflections on changes in US-Cuba relations
Growing up in Mexico as a missionary kid gave me a different perspective on my native land. Whether always welcomed or not, I could not help but filter my own early sense of patriotism through the lenses of classmates.
Bible: The Pope and Jeb Bush
[This is the fifth of a nine-part series on empowering a faith community to impact the world. Already hospitality, evangelism, missions, and ethics have been explored.] Did you hear Pope Francis? “Jeb!” was all over it. Immediately following the released…
How the Pope teaches
Word is out that Pope Francis’ long-awaited encyclical on the environment will be published later this month with the title Laudato Sii—“Praised Be You”—words from the Latin text of St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun. (Baptist News Global…
God’s Funeral
Although I don’t know that he said anything about a funeral, perhaps the best known statement about God’s demise was made by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who declared “God is dead” in his 1882 book “The Gay Science” (with “gay” being…
The making of Saint Oscar
It was 35 years ago, on March 24, 1980, that Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador was assassinated, but he has been back in the news this year. After much hesitation, the Catholic Church is now moving toward making him…
#popecrush
No one has risen to fame and garnered more respect, attention, hatred, followership and love than Pope Francis (with the possible exception of Lady Gaga). He’s been on the cover of Time Magazine and Rolling Stone. He’s re-authoring the public’s…
What the pope could teach even Baptists
Pope Francis is quickly becoming my favorite Pope. I did not grow up Catholic but did grow up seeing Pope John Paul II in the news. I always liked John Paul. But when Pope Benedict came into the position I…