Article Archive for January 2009
By Rev. Dr. William J. Sappenfield
Reflections for the Lectionary Readings for March 2009
By Rev. Dr. Keith A. Russell
Reflections on the Lectionary Readings for February 2009
By Sister Dianne Bergant
Everyone needs to belong to some group. In fact, it is really impossible not to belong. We are born into a family, a cultural group, a nation. No one is a true island. Our entire identity is determined by our natural ties with others and the social ties that we fashion throughout our lives.
By Dr. Donovan Russell
We are undergoing a period of reflection and questioning that stretch from to the most personal questions of how we wish to be spending our time as well as our treasure to the largest issues of international cooperation.
By Rabbi Sarah H. Reines
Living as a people without a land is an aberration of world history. Yet, homelessness is also symbolic of the human condition. The Torah begins with an illustration of this universal experience. The origin of humanity is Eden, a womb-like paradise both nourishing and limiting. Forced out, humans are born into independent living. Breathing free, yet yearning for the comfort of security, we seek out belonging in a vast world.
By Judy Yates Siker
Reflections on the Lectionary Readings for January 2009
By Rev. Dr. Robert R. LaRochelle
The recent controversy that has erupted over President-Elect Obama’s decision to invite Rev. Rick Warren to give the invocation at his Inauguration points to ongoing issues each preacher must confront concerning the role of the preacher in commenting on public policy, all part of the larger matter of the relationship between proclaiming one’s religious faith and translating that faith into specific political proposals on local, state and national issues.
By Rev. Dr. William A. Guthrie
The more one reads the Bible, the more one sees that the concept of nation runs throughout almost all Holy Scripture. Almost from the very beginning of Genesis, it was recognized that it was not good for an individual to be alone.
By Rev. Douglas S. Stivison
When this magazine’s editorial board selected the topic of nation, we knew this issue would appear shortly after a U.S. presidential election, but certainly none of us could have guessed quite how momentous that election would be or how much global commentary it would generate.
