The Christian Century

One of my more conservative friends posted this picture on his Facebook page recently, shared under the headline, “It’s funny, because it’s true.” I get it. Ironic, right? Maybe so. Yes, the captions make a point, but it’s not one I find compelling.

My ears perked up when I heard that Atul Gawande--my favorite surgeon/writer--has a piece in the New Yorker about coaching for professionals. You can read the whole thing online here.

Two supporters of Occupy Atlanta showed up at my church last Sunday. Now, I should say--they didn't come to worship. They showed up just as I was locking the doors to go home, slightly before two.

When you enter the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham—one of Alabama's great institutions—you are welcomed by Fred Shuttlesworth. You will be welcomed to this shrine of the Civil Rights Movement by a preacher.

This is the 785th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. He is beloved by so very many people the world over. Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers all admire the man who sought simply to follow in the footprints of Jesus Christ, living out his baptismal promise as one committed to living the holy gospel.

This week Mitt Romney offhandedly called himself part of the "middle class." Mitt's net worth is estimated at $200 million. It seems clear that it was a pretty innocuous attempt at solidarity by a super-rich guy with "us" not-so-rich.

It’s not really about taxes. It’s about our increasing contempt for the poor.

There is much about how religion and Christianity are understood and publicly discussed in our post-Christian Canadian context that produces a mixture of bemusement and genuine puzzlement for me.