Most of us who have been paying attention to the news over the past few months are aware that Roger Ailes, the long-time CEO of Fox News, was recently forced out due to sexual harassment complaints. What has emerged from his “take-down” goes way beyond sexual harassment (which is bad enough, of course). A September […]
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It All Becomes Clear Now: Psychology and the Presidential Race
Whatever you call it, it’s not good! There are people among us who make our skin crawl, whom we might, at certain moments, consider “evil.” They are dangerous in any situation but especially in situations where they have power over others. We do not need a degree in psychology to recognize or be affected by […]
Images from Philippi
Philippi in northern Greece is an important city for the history of Christianity and a fascinating archaeological site. Here we will highlight a few features that raise important issues for modern contemplation, since Christianity has had such vast influence on the West. I will illustrate these points using photos of mine taken on site during […]
Fear, Toxicity and Truth-Telling: Three Short Reports from the Christian Century
The Christian Century is not only for Christians – or even only for those who consider themselves religious. This biweekly magazine, which was established in 1884, deals very professionally and intelligently with a wide range of timely issues, including political and social justice topics. In their summary section entitled “Century Marks,” the journal summarizes recent […]
Making Millions Off Others’ Suffering 2: The Way Things Could Be
In our previous Making Millions post, we examined a number of areas of American life that are negatively impacted by large corporations and their leaders. These entities and individuals have successfully pressured Congress for decades to pass legislation that favors them; whatever their individual psychological make-up or motives, many very wealthy Americans frequently make exponentially more money […]
Making Millions Off Others’ Suffering 1: The Way Things Are
We need to wake up to a harsh reality: much of what we see around us in the United States, which we often attribute to the free market or American ingenuity and resourcefulness, is actually creativity and money-making off people’s suffering and needs. As I have argued in past posts, other advanced nations do not […]
Robin Williams’ 10 Top Reasons to be an Episcopalian
If you are happy with your current faith tradition, no need to read this post! I offer it not to try to convert folks who don’t need converting but rather to present an amusing (and, I hope, helpful) assessment by a beloved, lately-departed entertainer for those who might like to explore the Episcopal Church. Enjoy! […]
The Feminine/Androgynous Jesus
Jesus was a man, right? In the New (Christian) Testament of the Bible he certainly was. However, in the first few centuries of the Common Era (CE), images of Jesus were not limited to male. During this era, a great deal of Christian literature, generally called “apocryphal” or “extra-canonical,” circulated but did not make it […]
“Good” Anger and “Bad” Anger: Lessons from the Enneagram
Anger: an emotion that often drives people to walk into a school, movie theater, place of business or nightclub, pull a trigger and kill innocents. Anger: an emotion linked negatively in Bible verses with sin, unrighteousness, the devil, slander and malice. Anger: an emotion to be avoided, tamed, tamped down. What about our own anger, […]
SPLC on BLM: Important Distinctions When it comes to Hate Groups
Let’s look from another important angle at Black Lives Matter (BLM), their message and goals, and the recent murders of police officers in our nation. As I have done in the past, I turn for wisdom to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), whose work I have followed and supported for decades. Recently supporters received […]