MethoBlogroll Mirror Test : On Faith

Does God Evolve?

Perspectives — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:27:42 GMT

A few years ago I heard Bishop John Shelby Spong say the Bible is the story of pre-scientific, tribal people who lived before it was known that germs cause disease. He wasn’t denigrating the Bible. He was emphasizing that context should be considered...(read more)

Can Faith Become Relevant?

Perspectives — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:51:35 GMT

I needed to break free two frozen screws to remove a solenoid from a starter motor. Lacking an impact driver, I went to the local Pep Boys auto store. I waited as a salesperson explained a tire sale to a customer. The customer weighed the prices and decided...(read more)

The Media and Junk Culture

Perspectives — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:37:46 GMT

Around three in the afternoon on July 2, three cable news networks simultaneously played and replayed a video of Michael Jackson’s last rehearsal taken two days before his death. California was effectively bankrupt, issuing IOU’s for the first...(read more)

Faith and Religious War in Somalia

Perspectives — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:14:20 GMT

As if fractured Somalia were not divided enough, a report this week says Islamic groups are realigning for renewed fighting. Somalia disintegrated 15 years ago when a corrupt government fell. Clan fighting plunged the country into anarchy and it’s...(read more)

The Institution as Connection

Perspectives — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:00:02 GMT

Institutions are necessary, desirable and, for all their faults and foibles, valuable. Here’s why. They can mobilize and when they do they achieve scale. They enhance capacity. They empower. In the case of religious institutions, they are expressions...(read more)

Are Institutions Obsolete?

Perspectives — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:46:14 GMT

Institutions. We don’t like them or trust them. Sometimes we want to bring them down a notch or two. They’re cumbersome, territorial, political and dysfunctional. They’re always behind the times. It’s easy to dislike them. Writing...(read more)

From Instant Gratification to Deferred Gratification?

Perspectives — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:54:29 GMT

Can the U.S. move from a culture of instant gratification to deferred gratification? The question was inspired by a program on NPR this morning. From the car radio I went into a meeting where the same thing was being talked about. There’s a lot...(read more)

Rethink Church in the Parking Lot

Perspectives — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:18:35 GMT

The worker from Eduador spoke of his family back home as he stood in the Home Depot parking lot in Washington, D.C. last week. His brow wrinkled and his voice broke. He’s a long way from home and his existence here is day-to-day precarious. As I...(read more)

Worship Often: Approve Torture

Perspectives — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:36:17 GMT

The more often you attend church the more likely you are to approve torture. As startling as it sounds, if we are to believe the latest Pew research on religious attitudes, that’s the case. This is just breath-taking. That a religious community...(read more)

Athiests Out of the Closet

Perspectives — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:47:20 GMT

Athiests are coming out of the closet. And in South Carolina, no less; a place noted for the strength of its religious and political values, strongly conservative and deeply held. That’s the gist of the NY Times piece on "emerging" athiests...(read more)

Bono’s Search for the Soul

Perspectives — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:50:14 GMT

Rock Singer and humanitarian activist Bono asks about the state of our souls in this time of great change. In a Sunday op-ed he recounts Easter worship on an unnamed island and discusses the need for new beginnings. He writes affectingly about his search...(read more)

Ending Victimization, Claiming Empowerment

Perspectives — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:50:56 GMT

The Taliban have exploited class differences to gain control over the Swat Valley in Pakistan. The Dalit people, known as the "untouchables" in India’s caste-based social system, are throwing off oppressive discrimination to claim liberation...(read more)

Post-modern Religious Sensibility

Perspectives — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:21:50 GMT

Referring back to the earlier discussion about a Post-Christian America, I found this commentary by Judith Warner relevant. Giving her first-person views of a mixed religious childhood, she quotes Charles Darwin who said if the brain is impressed early...(read more)

Post-Christian America?

Perspectives — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:54:50 GMT

The loss of the political agenda of the religious right and Christian dominionists is not a marker for the demise of Christianity in the U.S. Writer Jon Meacham apparently felt the need to clarify further the point of his cover story in Newsweek which...(read more)

Neglecting the Global Economic Crisis?

Perspectives — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:26:56 GMT

As the economy continues downward, attention narrows and becomes more local. Much of what I’ve been reading lately treats the financial crisis as a U.S. issue. In doing research recently I looked at several statements about the crisis by religious...(read more)