Video
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Archive: July 6, 2008 - July 12, 2008
Why I Took Holy Communion
I didn't mean any offense or disrespect. I wanted to honor Tim Russert. He was a dear friend and I was devastated by his loss. Communion was offered. I took it. It made me feel uplifted, close to Tim and it assuaged my grief.
By Sally Quinn | July 11, 2008; 5:06 PM ET | Comments (798)
Progressives and Religion: Beyond Election Strategies
Progressives need deep thought about faith. This volume provides it.
By Eboo Patel | July 10, 2008; 11:19 PM ET | Comments (4)
Created in the Image of God
The Church of England’s decision this week to allow the consecration of female bishops embodies the biblical witness that all persons, both men and women, are created in the image of God.
By Jane Holmes Dixon | July 10, 2008; 2:28 PM ET | Comments (29)
Canon Law and Jesus Christ
If we really believe that the Eucharist is the real presence of Christ, we cannot rule out the possibility that Christ himself was reaching out to grieving people like Sally Quinn at Tim Russert’s funeral mass, and that she responded to his invitation.
By M. Cathleen Kaveny | July 10, 2008; 9:56 AM ET | Comments (28)
The Problem with Rituals
I don't think God gave a hoot that Sally Quinn, a non-Catholic, took communion at Tim Russert's funeral. God didn't make denominations. People did, and continue to do, if the truth be told. And the truth derived by humans is too often not inclusive and welcoming, but exclusive and divisive.
By Susan K. Smith | July 10, 2008; 7:54 AM ET | Comments (32)
The Search for Christian Hospitality
I think that Tim would have interpreted her choice with a "hermeneutic of grace," seeing in her action -- which strictly speaking, did violate Catholic protocols -- as a step of faith, and not as an act of disrespect for his religion.
By Brian D. McLaren | July 10, 2008; 5:04 AM ET | Comments (12)
Divine Impulses: Harry Jackson
Watch Bishop Harry Jackson talk about being born again, the role of religion in politics, the black church and his perspective on biblical principles of morality in the Divine Impulses religion interview series with On Faith’s Sally Quinn.
By Elizabeth Tenety | July 9, 2008; 3:11 PM ET | Comments (6)
Whom Does Christ Exclude?
Since the sacraments belong to Christ rather even than to Christianity and certainly to Christianity rather than just to Roman Catholicism nobody would have had the right to refuse her. What God has brought together in Christ, do not dare to put asunder in Church
By John Dominic Crossan | July 9, 2008; 12:46 PM ET | Comments (165)
Sally Quinn's Communion: Good Intentions, Poor Judgment
Sally Quinn’s decision to take Communion at Tim Russert’s funeral represented both the best of pluralism and interfaith outreach and the worst of non-religious people failing to “get” religion.
By Daisy Khan | July 9, 2008; 11:04 AM ET | Comments (16)
Communion for Non-Catholics and Kabbalah for Non-Jews....With Integrity
The response to Ms. Quinn’s apparent tone-deafness typifies the responses of all religious watchdog groups, be they Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Hindu. They never miss the opportunity to read a well-intentioned ritual misstep, as purposefully provocative or shamefully disrespectful.
By Brad Hirschfield | July 9, 2008; 9:48 AM ET | Comments (49)
Invitation Only, but Easy Entry to All
It is the Lord's supper, not ours and it is He who issues the invitation to those who believe in Him and His sacrifice. It is not an occasion to be "crashed" by the uninvited.
By Cal Thomas | July 9, 2008; 8:01 AM ET | Comments (29)
Rituals and Membership Cards
Rituals may light a lamp at the door, but they don't walk the road with you.
By Deepak Chopra | July 9, 2008; 7:53 AM ET | Comments (23)
Generosity is the First Rule
All religions have their own practices and interpretations of what their practices mean and those should be respected. No religion, however, owns the sacred, the realm of grace and generosity that is the gift of an infinite God (or spirit if you prefer) to limited and finite people.
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | July 9, 2008; 6:24 AM ET | Comments (153)
Rituals and the Modern Search for Meaning
For people like Sally Quinn, religious rituals and practices are, with the best of intention, resources that can be used to create personal meaning and connection independent of their metaphysical contexts and belief structures.
By Irwin Kula | July 9, 2008; 1:36 AM ET | Comments (9)
Roman Catholicism: Sally Was Right, But....
In telling us that she, a non-Catholic, took Communion at Tim Russert’s funeral, Sally Quinn has asked us to get personal about her no matter how little or much we “On Faith” panelists may know about her.
By Willis E. Elliott | July 8, 2008; 8:15 PM ET | Comments (18)
What would Tim Russert do?
Tim Russert was a premier journalist and a good man. After his memorial service I stood outside the Kennedy Center and marveled at the double rainbow across the Washington sky. I took in that rainbow but I would not have...
By Leith Anderson | July 8, 2008; 7:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
Sensitivity, Common Sense and Good Manners
People have a right to expect that sacred things in their own places of worship will be treated with a level of respect, even reverence. In our pluralistic society, we should set that bar high. This isn’t about exclusion. Nor is it about theology. It’s about sensitivity, common sense and good manners.
By Michael Otterson | July 8, 2008; 6:29 PM ET | Comments (15)
Guest Blogger: Dutch Muslims?
Dutch Muslims don’t exist yet. There are the Turks and the Moroccans and there are the Dutch.
By Eboo Patel | July 8, 2008; 5:06 PM ET | Comments (8)
True Atheists are Anti-Belief
To me, the fact that so many people identify as atheists actually means that they deny specific names or expressions of God, or just have a different understanding of the man-God relationship. To truly be an atheist requires a good amount of intellectual rigor and clarity of mind.
By Adin Steinsaltz | July 8, 2008; 10:06 AM ET | Comments (239)
An Ancient Controversy
Many Roman Catholics, including many priests, very much regret this restriction of the eucharistic hospitality they would like to be able to offer. And many Roman Catholics, including many priests, are not only happy but quite eager to receive Communion sometimes from Anglican clergy.
By Nicholas T. Wright | July 8, 2008; 9:13 AM ET | Comments (5)
Room for Humility in All Believers
What this study should do is produce the (traditional Christian) virtue of modesty about being "right" intellectually. Having the right idea is good, but not enough.
By John Mark Reynolds | July 8, 2008; 8:13 AM ET | Comments (21)
Thank God For The Atheists
The more we believe in something, the more ready we need to be to question it and even to walk away from it. Abraham lived that lesson and so, I think, do those twenty-one percent of atheists who claim to believe in something.
By Brad Hirschfield | July 7, 2008; 10:32 AM ET | Comments (14)
Atheists, Pew, and Webster's
"Atheists" who believe in God, one suspects, prefer not to be identified with a particular religious group. So too, "agnostics" who are really non-churched Christians prefer not to be identified with a popular notion of Christianity.
By Pamela K. Taylor | July 7, 2008; 9:57 AM ET | Comments (33)
More A-Theists Than We Realize
It is a pity that theological knowledge so seldom makes it down to the people in the pews. It seems from this Pew Survey, however, that it might be making it in the ranks of the atheists.
By John Shelby Spong | July 7, 2008; 7:57 AM ET | Comments (28)
Pluralism is a Strength, not a Weakness
This Pew Forum study underscores the fact that America is the most religious pluralistic nation in the world. In fact, Interfaith Alliance is made up of people from over 75 different faith traditions, as well as many people who do not have a faith tradition.
By Welton Gaddy | July 7, 2008; 5:24 AM ET | Comments (26)
Obama Should be Bolder
Eboo Patel | The candidate's faith-based program should encourage good deeds within AND among different faith communities.
By Eboo Patel | July 6, 2008; 9:37 PM ET | Comments (19)
