“I love New York, and I love the idea of a mosque at Ground Zero,” writes Boston University religion scholar Stephen Prothero. He’s half right. But, for a man of his intellect, that’s not too good. I love New York, but I hate the idea of a mosque at Ground Zero. I believe most Americans, and indeed most…
Gay Marriage Support Wed To View Of Bible & God
Results from a recent poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute show that the theological views of Californians, namely how they view God and how they view the Bible, largely shape how they view gay marriage. Candace Chellew-Hodge, writing in a recent post for Religion Dispatches Magazine, points out Californians who see the Bible as the…
Spanish Prayer Not Welcome in Utah Town
Pastors who cannot offer their prayers in English will be barred from praying at public events in the Utah town of Hyrum. Town officials, who invited a local pastor to pray at a city-sponsored Independence Day event this past July 4th, have been inundated with calls to City Hall demanding their resignations. Even though the pastor’s Spanish-language prayer was simultaneously…
Churches Offer Predators Easy Targets
Predators love to come to church. Not necessarily for the messages of unconditional love, grace, and redemption that churches offer. Rather, predators come to church for another reason — because they know that many churches offer easy access to the most vulnerable and weak. Predators enter the church through numerous doors. Some come into the congregation as participants in…
Common Courtesy, Frozen Custards, & Fonzie!
You can spot them a mile away. You may not be able to make them out completely, but you just know one when you see it, even from a distance. In Albuquerque, where I’m visiting, there seem to be a lot more of them than in the southern part of New Mexico, where I live. What am I…