I’m pretty sure that my favorite story of this Hanukkah season was this one from Good Morning America : For centuries, the Dreidel game has been a Hanukkah tradition. The simple gambling game remains a fixture at Hanukkah parties, but today it’s often more decoration than entertainment – a party favor and not a party favorite.
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Catching a gimel on the river
A Christian friend who knows I am a journalist but tries to love me anyway subscribes to USA Today . After he read Cathy Lynn Grossman’s print and online articles on that latest Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, he asked if I could explain “how this media-stuff works and how headlines are ‘pitched’ different ways for different audiences.” Well, Gene, I can’t get more precise than to say that different journalists (or even different stories by the same journalist) address different aspects of of the world of religion—in this case Pew’s complex 22-page report, “Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths,” which can be downloaded here
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Shopping for religion: Pew view
There are many stories in the Bible, and this is one season in the year when most of us are preaching stories. In some ways Bible stories give the preacher an advantage. For example, stories offer a flow, a plot, a progression, that can be replicated in the message (although it amazes me how many preachers try to preach a story without telling the story!) Also, stories offer vivid images and allow for effective description. But how do we forge the connection between “back then” and “today”? A few thoughts, I’m sure you could add more: Don’t just historically lecture, but preach to today. It is easy to fall into the trap of presenting what happened back then, but not recognizing the enduring theological significance for today. People appreciate hearing about what happened, but they deeply appreciate it when the preacher can emphasize the relevance of that happening to us today.
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Connecting With Story
by John G. Turner Worth reading in part because of commentary from two incisive historians (Michael Hamilton and Larry Eskridge) of American evangelicalism, the Los Angeles Times observes Ted Haggard preaching to overflow crowds, albeit in his living room instead of at his former megachurch. In American popular and political culture, we love both sin (this year’s stars include Mark Ensign, Mark Sanford, and Tiger Woods) and redemption (Eliot Spitzer), thus I’m sure no one is surprised that Haggard is making a comeback.
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Ted Haggard’s New Life
A question often asked about health care: Is it a right or a privilege? Those who argue it's a right believe that all Americans ought to have access to it, and if they can't pay for it, they deserve some form of assistance.
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Local faith leaders offer perspectives on medical care
This devotional from Walk in the Word spoke to my heart a few weeks ago. I love the questions he asks in his article— “will I trust God even when…?” “Do I believe that His ways are best for me even when…?” I'd like to share it with you this weekend in the hopes it will encourage you to keep praying and believing! Praying and believing with you! Dineen The Way to Victory by James MacDonald, Walk in the Word “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments
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Weekend Devo — The Way to Victory
I’m happy to announce our newest contributor on our permanent rolls: Steven Miller . Steven is no stranger to the blog, having posted here before (more recently on the Billy Graham/Richard Nixon tapes ), and we’ve discussed his excellent book Billy Graham and the Rise of the Republican South in a number of posts. For his first post as contributor, Steven assesses a new book by Andrew Finstuen
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Original Sin and Everyday Protestants
Paul Harvey John Kang, “Appeal to Heaven: On the Religious Origins of the Constitutional Right of Revolution,” 18 William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal 281 (forthcoming 2010), has been posted here at SSRN. Here is the abstract: Abstract: This Article explores the religious origins of the right to alter or abolish government. I show in Part I that the right was widely accepted among the American colonies as expressed through their constitutions and, later, the federal constitution.
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Appeal to Heaven
Just in the nick of time, heeee’s baaaack. I was getting concerned Jesus didn’t have enough airline miles to make it to Earth for a cameo, but as always Wall Watchers (say it with me)… He may not be early, but he’s always right on time. Amen! Meet Mary Jo Coady from Methuen, Mass.
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God Sighting of the Month: Ironing out your salvation
Editor's note: This is part of a series that offers ways to make the holidays more affordable, from inexpensive or free events to gifts that are easy on the wallet. The giving season this year could be shaping up to be unlike most Decembers.
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'Tis the season of (alternative) giving