Many of us learned in grade school religion classes that Jesus' resurrection was simply God's seal of approval on everything Jesus taught and did. So if he didn't actually rise from the dead, then the religion he founded and all the rules we learned in our catechism classes weren't binding on anyone. We'd best look for another religion.
In his essay "The Signature of Jesus," Brennan Manning passes on the story of an elderly man who meditated every morning under a big tree on the bank of the Ganges River (Multnomah Pub., 1996). One morning, after he had finished praying, the man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water. As the scorpion washed nearer to the tree, the man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that extended over the river and reached out to save the drowning creature. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively, the man withdrew his hand.
Essay: Despite presiding over a minor see in the Central African bush, Bishop Nicolas Djomo, a modern-day pontifex, looms large.
Book review: If we claim to be supporters of justice, nonviolence and environmentalism, can we still engage in common practices such as eating meat, owning pets and hunting?
Column: Directors of religious education have gotten creative with scheduling, not only to satisfy parents but also for volunteers' and priests' availability.
Column: While the 2016 presidential Democratic nomination risks turning into Hillary Clinton's coronation, the contest for the Republican nomination better resembles civil war.
In summer 2013, Kansas City Royals players, staff and fans teamed up to rally the community around an effort to lend a helping hand.
The Gallup, N.M., diocese may be the ninth to file for bankruptcy in the last 10 years, but a judge doesn't want it to follow its predecessors.
My Table is Spread: The largest mental health facilities in the country are in our largest cities -- and happen to be jails.
Russia has prided itself on its revival of Orthodox Christianity after decades of Soviet persecution, but a war with the Ukraine could splinter the Russian Orthodox church.
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