Latest Articles
Rethinking Modern Judaism, by Arnold M. Eisen
What came first, the chicken of belief or the egg of ritual? And how do they relate to each other?...
The reinvented church: Styles and strategies: New paradigms and renewed churches
My personal religious pilgrimage is not exceptional. I grew up in a community church in southern California that had evangelical leanings....
Faithful witness: Interfaith engagement
The sharp awareness of religious pluralism that developed in the 20th century is likely only to intensify in the 21st century....
Millennial reflections on an interdependent world: Managing the planet
Some months ago the New Yorker carried a "Millennium Travel Advisory"—a special advertising section concerning a "Global Party." "Talk about the mega super-event of our times," it said....
Manipulated protest: Mosque dispute in Nazareth
For two November days, pilgrims were turned away from major Christian shrines throughout Palestine-Israel....
Can peace last? Backlog of mistrust in Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland
What new thing has happened in Northern Ireland? The peace agreement reached on Good Friday 1998 has begun to be implemented....
The waters of solidarity: Genesis 1:1-5; Mark 1:4-11
The baptism of Jesus is Mark's Christmas story.
HallowThanksMas
We are coming to the close of the season of HallowThanksMas. It begins the last week of October and extends until Christmas Day....
A man for our times
Aristotle says that three elements are necessary for a successful argument: ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos refers to the character of the one who speaks or writes....
Understanding evangelicals
Blessed Assurance: A History of Evangelicalism in America, by Randall Balmer...
Leadership that matters: Lessons from and for the parish
A year ago my wife took a leave from teaching middle school to enter a graduate program in school administration....
Bipartisan sins: Ideologies and scandal
Let's institute a moratorium on citing the sexual (or fiscal) indiscretions of various leaders and linking their misdeeds to the individuals' ideology, whether of the left or right....
Holy instincts: Beneath the tinsel
Christmas is coming. I know this not because of the weather, which is still balmy, nor the date....
Grace and disruption: Mary’s story
Among my friends and acquaintances, the recent made-for-television movie Mary generated little interest....
Wise teachers, sound teaching: Pastoral presence
In Ephesus, Timothy walked into a congregational mess with the mandate to straighten it out....
Lessons in leadership
Among the congregations I know, two challenges loom especially large for leaders: maintaining a clear focus amid competing agendas, and bringing about needed change when people are resistant or at ...
For grown-ups: Isaiah 52:7-10; John 1:1-14
The first three Sundays of Advent speak of an adult Christ and the future reign of God, not of an infant born in the past....
In my own voice?
"We would like to have you speak in your own voice about what you believe as a Jew or Christian," wrote the editors inviting me to contribute to a volume in which Jews and Christians were to engage...
Palestinian bantustans
Palestinians recognize the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks for what they are: the mopping-up process following a power struggle that Israel won....