Date: June 29, 2021
With Apologies to Mr. Lincoln
Twelve score and five years ago our forebears brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, Bondage, and Theft, but dedicated to the proposition that all human […]
Category: Blog Posts
Date: June 16, 2021
God Blesses… and Condemns
This is the third of four sermon starters for the 4th of July weekend. I’m taking common Christian religious claims about the U.S. and re-examining them. Readers are free to […]
Date: June 8, 2021
Canceling “Chosenness”
This is the second of four sermon starters for the 4th of July weekend. I’m taking common Christian religious claims about the U.S. and re-examining them. Last week was “In […]
Date: June 1, 2021
In God We (Don’t) Trust
This is the first of 4 sermon starters for July 4th weekend. Preachers are free to use them. In each sermon, I endeavor to interpret this moment in the nation’s […]
Date: May 25, 2021
As Sick as Our Secrets
There is a true truism among family therapists and recovery groups: a family is as sick as its secrets. In this week during which the eyes of national reporters, and […]
Date: May 18, 2021
Creating Hell One Punishment at a Time
We live in a punishing society. We are a society that supports and tolerates a great deal of inflicting pain for moral reasons. Lots of us feel justified in pronouncing […]
Date: May 12, 2021
Will Finding Our Roots Change Us?
“Finding Your Roots” is a PBS series hosted by Harvard historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In each episode, Gates interviews celebrities while he presents to them always-revealing information about […]
Date: April 20, 2021
Disappointing Civil Religion
In researching a book on campus ministry at the beginning of my academic career, the lead author (the Rev. Dr. Sam Portaro) thought about calling the book The Dis-appointment of […]
Date: April 13, 2021
Mind the Virtue Gap
These attributes distinguish a democracy from a mob—at least according to the American defenders of democracy around the time of the nation’s founding: Respect demonstrated by the majority for the […]
Date: April 6, 2021
When We Take Off the Masks
On Easter Sunday morning, shortly before sunrise, I attended an in-person worship service for the first time since the March 2020 shutdown. The service was outside. Everyone masked. It was […]