Latest Articles
God’s entrance: 2 Samuel 7:1-16; Luke 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel bursts into the life of an ordinary young woman without permission, terrifying her.
Climate change and the unraveling of creation: Taking a global inventory
Ten years ago I wrote a book called The End of Nature, which was the first book for a general audience about the question of global warming. At the time, climate change was a hypothesis....
Mixed message: Jesse Jackson in Decatur
Whether he is taking up the cause of unions, minorities, immigrants or the poor, Jesse Jackson is always on the lookout for dramatic points of conflict that can attract public attention the way tha...
Cuba’s spirited Protestants: Church-growth challenges
The taxi's motor died three times as the driver wound his way around the fallen trees and through the flooded streets of Havana....
Boundary issues
Recently I met someone who had been to South Africa to witness the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission....
Behind the curtain
A climactic moment in The Wizard of Oz is when Toto pulls aside the green curtain, and exposes a man turning levers which he had been using to fool people into thinking he was a wizard....
Stewardship sermon
The Alexian Brothers established Bonaventure House some years ago as a place of refuge, spiritual care and healing of many sorts for people afflicted with AIDS....
Reckoning with apocalypse: Time to turn around
A hundred years ago many Christians envisioned Christianity winning acceptance among every country and people of the world....
Wizards and Muggles: Uses of fantasy
Scottish author J. K. Rowling has written a wildly popular series of children's books about Harry Potter....
Endings and beginnings: The NCC celebrates—and regroups
The National Council of Churches, its existence threatened by persistent deficits, inept financial management and denominational apathy, approved plans at a November 9-12 meeting to eliminate 34 st...
Edgar: Outsider and ‘salvager’
Robert Edgar, whose four-year term as general secretary of the National Council of Churches begins January 1, will commute between New York and Southern California for two months while he wraps up ...
The future of homo sapiens: A species perspective
The colleague with whom I teach astronomy likes to challenge our students with the question, "Are we any smarter than the ancient Greeks were?" We surely have a great deal more knowledge—especially...
Why men get anxious: On Susan Faludi's Stiffed
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, by Susan Faludi...
Bridging the abyss of revenge: Forgiveness in politics
"For almost 50 years, South Korean villagers have insisted that early in the Korean War, American soldiers machine-gunned hundreds of helpless civilians under a railroad bridge near a hamlet some 1...
A true teacher
I have been dreading this semester. Bill Mallard, my colleague in historical studies at Candler School of Theology, is retiring at the end of the year....
Grave and merry
Recently I cohosted with actor John Mahoney (of the TV show Frasier) an annual event called "Jubilate." It supports Chicago's Bonaventure House, where the Alexian Brothers serve AIDS victi...
The two faces of Advent: John 1:6-8, 19-28
John stands on the frontier as the ages collide, destined to bear the impact.