There is quite a strong tradition in the Old Testament of complaining to God about injustice and suffering. It's lamenting -- and we should perhaps reclaim this part of our tradition. ...

In the midst of matching mentors to new interns a couple of weeks ago at Sojourners, I came to an uncomfortable realization. In the midst of matching mentors to new interns a coup ...

<p><a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/truth-and-civility/" target="_blank"></a></p> <p>Ever since Peter and Paul had opposing views about ministry to the Gentil ...

<p></p> Many were rightly shocked by the statistical assessment of males in our society by Hanna Rosin's article, " The End of Men ", in the Ju ...

My wife Sarah and I recently moved to Baltimore and are knee-deep in that time-honored tradition of relocation: church shopping. My wife Sarah and I recently moved to Baltimore an ...

<blockquote><p>Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then, there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. ...

Humility is not easy. Humility is not easy. After all it shares the same root word as "humiliation." But the humility that allows us to say we are sorry and to change ou ...

<p><a href="/sites/default/files/images/100908-flipped.jpg"></a>A lot of contemporary movies picture American suburban life as banal, hypocritical, and morally bankrupt -- a deceitf ...

In the <a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.contents&amp;issue=soj1009">September-October issue of </a><em><a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?actio ...

<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="/sites/default/files/images/100826_MLK.jpg"></a>[Editor's Note: In anticipation of the anniversary of the March on Washington on ...

"<em>You are the Potter, I am the clay</em>." I grew up singing that in youth group at church -- but never with very much enthusiasm. " You are the Pot ...

When I was interviewed in <a href="http://www.statesman.com/life/faith/satirist-ponders-true-meaning-of-christ-outside-christianity-870492.html">The Austin American Statesman</a> about my ...

In the film "Dead Man Walking", shortly before Matthew Poncelet (played by Sean Penn) is executed, there's a scene where Poncelet confesses his crime of rape and murder. ...

I'm thankful that God rarely answers our constant requests wanting to know the future.</p> <p>Why?</p> I'm thankful that God rarely answers our constan ...

In the story of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the Well of Sychar, we see a man and a woman from two different tribes that hate each other. In the story of J ...

The earliest representations of Jesus show him eating and healing. In both instances, those who shared the scenes with Jesus included misfits, outcasts, the infirm, and the impoverished. ...

<p></p> <p> </p> <p>[Editor's Note: This week we will have a series of reviews on films with a focus on immigration. Check back each day for a new film review, and visit < ...

We need a clean energy conversion.</p> We need a clean energy conversion. If civil rights was the key issue of the previous generation, I think clean energy is one o ...

Tombolombo. Tombolombo. That is the word for "dragonfly" in Chichewa, my son Vasco's native language. It was one of the first words Vasco taught me when he came ...

By now, most of you have heard of the <em>dramatic news</em> of Anne Rice's simple statement of "quitting Christianity." I'm amazed how much coverage this has received -- everyw ...

Throughout the Bible, we see <a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/comprehensive-immigration-reform/">stories of immigrants</a> -- people called to settle in new lands and begin new lives for ...

From what I hear, if you are taking a trip to the Holy Land you can visit the actual road from Jerusalem to modern-day Jericho, and local tour guides are happy, for the right price, to show you the ...

It was a nice invitation, not unlike many I've received before. It was a nice invitation, not unlike many I've received before. Every summer, a number of Christian mus ...

Fatu was 25 years old when her father and his two sons burned her to death. Her crime was converting to Christianity in a Muslim land. Fatu was 25 years old when her father and hi ...

Here are some of my favorite women writers of spirituality and theology in no particular order with short comments on why I recommend them.</p> Here are some of my favorite ...

A few summers ago, my son brought a little white plastic birdbath to my dad's house and set it up in the back yard. Dad kept the birdbath clean and filled with water. A few ...

God gets at us in the funniest of ways. Just this week the Spirit stirred in me while reading an interview with one of my heroes, Vandana Shiva. The reporter from <em>YES! G ...

<a href="http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/07/stopping-anti-immigrant-violence-at-its-ideological-roots/">In November 2008, a Latino man, Marcelo Lucero, was stalked and murdered</a> on a stre ...

While discerning a vocation to Roman Catholic religious life years ago, I had the opportunity to go on retreat with a group of women religious. While discerning a vocation to Roma ...

One of the joys of vacation Bible school (VBS) is watching what the kids take away from the week. One of the joys of vacation Bible school (VBS) is watching what the kids take awa ...

Last Monday evening, a massive storm front hit southwestern Ohio. Last Monday evening, a massive storm front hit southwestern Ohio. Although the damage was minimal, the storm turn ...

My father is 82 years old, and for most of his life he was an avid gardener and fisherman. He lost interest in the garden after my mother died. This year I told Dad that I wanted a garden. ...

Christianity promises, by grace and through faith, that believers will spend eternity with God in paradise. Christianity promises, by grace and through faith, that believers will ...

Hans Peterson, a good friend of mine, died two months ago in a work-related accident. Hans Peterson, a good friend of mine, died two months ago in a work-related accident. Hans wa ...

I've always longed to see the world through a poet's eyes -- to see the magical in the everyday and to be able to weave words in such a way as to convey that magic to others. ...

God calls on us to meditate on God and God's word. However, does the fast intake of information from TV, film, and especially the Internet make us less likely to experience God? ...

In <a href="http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&amp;issue=soj0611&amp;article=061121">Barabara Kingsolver</a>'s novel titled <em><a href="http ...

César J. Baldelomar The Future of Faith, by Harvey Cox. HarperOne. Not too long ago, with the rise of science ...

Lisa Sowle Cahill At the end of life, how can people of faith prepare for a good death? Death is a human reali ...

To make a difference for good in this world a person has to have a sense of place. But few of us have such a sense. We are a people on the move. To make a difference for good in t ...

All the Christian archetypes were already in place on the very first day.</p> All the Christian archetypes were already in place on the very first day. The story opens w ...

<em>Kirkus Reviews</em> calls Sara Zarr's third young adult novel, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316036048?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=sojourners-20&amp;linkCode=xm2 ...

<p>I had the recent pleasure of seeing Max McLean's deliciously wicked portrayal of Screwtape in <a href="http://www.fpatheatre.com/screwtape/">The Screwtape Letters</a> curren ...

<strong>Jonathan, you were quoted in a recent <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/mayweb-only/28-41.0.html"><em>Christianity Today</em> Web article</a>< ...

<strong> </strong>This hymn-prayer was written in response to the ongoing oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig that started on April 20^th. ...

Usually when Mother's Day comes, we think of the women in our lives who nurture, teach, rear, and comfort us. Usually when Mother's Day comes, we think of the women in o ...

In the 1990s, I taught history and theology at an evangelical college, a place where the students were serious young Christians. In the 1990s, I taught history and theology at an ...

One of the best gifts I received when I finished grad school was a book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805086587?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=sojo_blog-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1 ...

Under the sweeping arches of the Washington National Cathedral, we <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/29/AR2010042901014.html">celebrated</a> the life o ...

[<a href="http://blog.sojo.net/tag/emergent-and-race/">Read more of this blog conversation</a> in response to the <em>Sojourners </em>magazine article "<a href=&qu ...