Many years ago when I was in divinity school, my favorite professor, the late Dieter Georgi , spoke to us in his classes about utopia. He saw utopia everywhere in Scripture. Dieter as a 15-year-old German was drafted by Hitler’s Navy and survived the bombing of Dresden; he lived his whole life with a sense […]
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“Socialisms” and Harnessing Capitalism for the Common Good
While I am not an economist or political scientist, I am a US citizen and believe that it our responsibility as US citizens to know about different socio-economic systems and to be engaged in discussions about civic, economic and social issues. Whether we know it or not, these systems deeply affect our everyday lives. Especially […]
When Early Christians Revered a Female Deity
Current research reveals that some early Christians revered God in female form. Let’s take a look at the evidence, which starts with an overview of the context out of which Christianity emerged. Christianity emerged in the Graeco-Roman era when people worshipped many gods and goddesses – Zeus, Athena, Dionysos, Apollo, the Great Mother, Sylvanus; this […]
Animals go to Heaven
About a year ago, Pope Francis was purported to comfort a child on the death of his pet by saying that animals go to heaven. While the report may be apocryphal (and may or may not actually have been attributed to Pope Paul VI), the survival of animals’ souls after death is a persistent question, […]
Same-sex Unions in Antiquity
The issue of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other alternative lifestyle rights has been prominent in the US and throughout the world for the past 30 or 40 years. The related issue of same-sex marriage has come even more to the fore in American culture since the Supreme Court ruled in late June 2015 that same-sex […]
St. Paul and Women
Philippi, in the north of Greece, was a significant city in the history of Christianity. St. Paul visited the city and wrote a letter to the community there, which is in the New Testament of the Bible. While Paul may be seen as someone who suppressed women, based upon other letters in the New Testament […]
At-will employment and root causes of poverty
In November 2013, I lost my administrative job at the Smith College School for Social Work with no notice and no warning: they simply eliminated my position and sent me packing. Their ability to do this is a direct result of the all-American employment practice of at-will, which is not found in any other Western […]
Initial Thoughts on the Common Good
In this blog, I will be referring frequently to the common good. While there are political, economic and philosophical ways of discussing this concept, I would like to keep it simple and straightforward. I will also be placing it in a theological context, since that is my training – and also since much of our […]