From the category archives:

THEOLOGY

PRIEST: not quite the same thing as “minister”

January 20, 2012

Tonight a friend, Diane,  will be ordained a Priest in the Episcopal Church.   An Episcopal Bishop will place his hands on her head and other ordained Priests will crowd around her and place their hands on her at the same time.  It is a very moving ritual, tracing its elements to ancient traditions of the [...]

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PUBLIC PRAYER: posting #2 this week

January 15, 2012

  I drew some commentary (not all in written comment) this week about Tim Tebow and his public prayer life.   It’s good to have dialogue on such topics.   Having said that, here’s posting #2 which, again, is not meant to be the ranting of a contrarian.   These are subjects about which people are talking, and [...]

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TAKE A KNEE: a public gesture of bowing in prayer

January 11, 2012

The story rage in NFL football over the past several weeks has not been brutal defeats of reigning teams or even scandalous reports of inappropriate behavior by coaches.  To the contrary, the media has been focused on one man, Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos.  And it’s not even his playing that has [...]

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THE ZED FACTOR: the last, final word

January 10, 2012

The term The Zed Factor is my own construction.  I’m using it as a way of describing that which The Penultimate Word is not.   This is not the final word, the definitive, the ultimate answer to a question.   To the contrary, it is an answer, an opinion, some thoughts on a topic. Zed is another [...]

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SUBSIDIARITY: needs are best served by institutions closest to individuals

January 7, 2012

When I first saw the title of journalist Michael Gerson’s article in The Washington Post this week I was tempted to pass it by.  “Rick Santorum and the return of Compassionate Conservatism.” Somehow I just didn’t have the stomach to endure another appeal to the Bush-era thinking that there could be such a thing as [...]

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EPISCOPALIAN/ROMAN CATHOLICS: apples and oranges in flowing robes

January 2, 2012

The New York Times reports today that the Vatican has created a new form of Roman Catholic diocese to house disaffected Episcopalians and Anglicans who want to become members of the Roman Catholic Church.  There are some conditions which prevail, but for the most part those Episcopalians who are so unhappy that the Church has [...]

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IDEOLOGY: the body of belief that guides in the establishment of policy

December 30, 2011

At the top of the State House in Providence, Rhode Island, stands the statue of “The Independent Man.”   It is a revered statue that symbolizes the ideology employed at the time of the establishment of the state.* Roger Williams and his followers came to the land to be known as “The State of Rhode Island [...]

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CREMATION: the act of incinerating the body of a deceased person

December 5, 2011

I read recently that cremation is fast becoming the method of preference in America for caring for the remains of deceased loved ones.   There are all kinds of speculations as to why this is happening, including environmental concerns, a rejection of elaborate ceremony, the expense of traditional burial, and the softening of religious inhibitions against [...]

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HOLIDAY: a day or season of both sacred and secular observance

December 4, 2011

People all over the country are getting heated up over a faux controversy over the use of the term holiday and its related ornaments.    The current affection of many Americans with things “conservative” has not spared references to the season, as many people have chosen to greet friends, relatives and customers with the greeting, “Happy [...]

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TANAKH: the entire canon of the Old Testament

November 30, 2011

I read a fascinating article in the New York Times this past week about a woman who teaches at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine is the University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies.    At first blush that might not strike you as unusual, but the story is that Dr. Levine is a Jewish scholar [...]

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