Kleinbard’s idealism is tempered by realism accrued in his tenure as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation. Having seen Congress in action and inaction, he understands that some things he’d prefer are pies-in-the-sky. In his book he makes a strong economic case for the US to adopt European-style universal single-payer health care, but does not factor this into the proposals in his book. The super-heated right-wing ideology that dominates Congress today has taken off the table the obvious solution to runaway costs and fundamental injustice in our health care system.
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Since starting to attend the Episcopal Church nearest to our new home in Upstate New York, I have learned five real-world lessons about membership development.
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Pluralism Sunday – a project of ProgressiveChristianity.org – was on May 3, 2015 Churches around the world celebrate that other religions can be as good for others as ours is for us, by including music, …
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The God of Genesis was almost omnipotent. But his extreme potency and his immortal nature prevented him from having the one ability he needed most in order to fully experience and enjoy the companionship of the human beings he had created: vulnerability.
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This Easter, progressives will once again preach sermons and write articles in order to do their best to re-frame the Jesus story in a positive light. This isn’t one of those articles.
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(This is adapted from emails I sent to students, faculty, and staff in the course on mindfulness I’m teaching at the USC Keck School of Medicine, through our Mindful.USC.edu initiative:) Mindfulness: A short course Mindfulness is “paying …
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There is no Easter without making one’s peace with the dead and with the forces of destruction that lurk within the human psyche.
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When love and hatred engage in mortal conflict it is love which suffers most; but love has the final victory.
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“… remain here, and stay awake with me.” Jesus, Matthew 26: 38 One night of our dog’s life lasted for just a few minutes. Our yellow Labrador, Kai, was playing in our front yard on a sunny …
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Within Christ’s complex heart and mind
Three streams emerged and joined as one:
The man who spoke with prophet’s fire
Showed mother-love and childlike fun.
As flesh reveals a path to sacredness,
As body, mind and spirit merge as one,
As life is lived with interweaving links,
We dance the rhythmic pulse of Moon and Sun.
If we’re truly honest with ourselves, we ought to fall in love several times a day. I know I do. People excite me. All kinds of people. All the time. I have to decide if I will act on my feelings or just let them exist.
It’s not often appropriate to express all our feelings romantically. It’s not even necessary.
The life of Jesus shows a way
Of living life in love each day.
He lived with kindness, but was strong
In striking out against all wrong.
As Christians we are called to love one another above all else, but what happens when we unwittingly bring in elements that illicit feelings of exclusion, rather than loving inclusion, among those at our worship services? Monette Chilson explores two practices with the potential to ostracize and calls us to reexamine them.
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There is one “Musings” reader whose perspective matters particularly to me. Her name is Roberta Maran, and she happens to be my wife. She read my post last week and when I asked her what she thought, she told me she was disappointed.
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Radical religious extremists with a distorted view of Islam commit horrific acts of terror, executing the staff of a small satirical French publication. The satirists had dared to depict the Prophet Mohammed in cartoon caricature; all the while lampooning those misbegotten adherents who in turn regard such irreverent acts as blasphemous.
The Western world reacts with outrage and defiance to such an affront. World leaders join a million person protest and unity march through the streets of Paris, chanting “Je Suis Charlie,” in defense of freedom of speech, and on behalf of the publication’s name.
While a clear distinction might be drawn between the use of words and the vehement reactions they may incite, more profound underlying questions remain. While anti-blasphemy laws are common in Muslim countries, countless other “secular” countries have laws against the defamation of religion, as well. Once the dust settles and more thoughtful discussion ensues, one might ask what constitutes the differences between hate speech and freedom of expression?
This commentary consider s esus’ use of what was deemed blasphemous satire, it’s intended purpose, and well-known consequences.
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Our prayers igniting, cast out into the shire
and the song of our struggle
came straight from the fire,
it goes:
holy holy grandmother, we sing
wash us clean of our pain and suffering
give us strength for our new beginnings
From my deepest grace I sing
wash away, it will wash away
I thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday Assembly. Clearly it addresses a felt need of many people for a community without religious content. I sensed that some folks were there in reaction against religion, but it looked like most were just looking for a wholesome community with which to connect.
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