Nicholas Knisely – Page 103

Jerry Coyne on faith and science

January 25, 2009 2 Comments

Together, Saving Darwin and Only a Theory provide an edifying summary of the tenets and the flaws of modern creationism, the former dealing mainly with its history and the latter with its specious claims. If these books stopped there, they would raise a valuable alarm about the dangers facing American science and culture. But in the end their sincere but tortuous efforts to find the hand of God in evolution lead them to solutions that are barely distinguishable from the creationism that they deplore.

Intentional Christian communities

January 25, 2009 2 Comments

At Simple House, as at other Christian intentional communities, the answer demands devotion and sacrifice. None of the missionaries at Simple House has an outside job. Laura earns just $200 a month to minister to about two dozen families in Southeast, doing everything from delivering food to helping a couple deal with their daughter’s suicide attempt. She and her housemates have taken vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. They pray every morning and evening and attend Mass daily.

Sir John Mortimer: atheist for Christ

January 25, 2009 1 Comment

“Sir John called himself an atheist for Christ,” the vicar said. “He always came to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. But he emphatically did not believe in life after death. My hope,” she added, “is that he has had a wonderful surprise.”

Obama and the Covenant

January 25, 2009 No Comments

Virtually every US president since Washington in 1789 has renewed the covenant in his inaugural address, often in biblical terms. Obama’s was a textbook example. There was the reference to the Exodus, a journey through the wilderness that involved crossing a sea: “They packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans.” There was the covenant itself: “Our Founding Fathers . . . drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man.”

Cafeteria Christians?

January 18, 2009 No Comments

A sizable majority of the country’s faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven.

Switching Religions

January 18, 2009 1 Comment

Like most of his congregants at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown, Father Albert wasn’t born an Episcopalian. In fact, he first walked into St. John’s almost 20 years ago as a Jewish physician.

Advice for theology students

January 18, 2009 1 Comment

As a theological student, your aim is to accumulate opinions – as many as you can, and as fast as possible. (Exceptional students may acquire all their opinions within the first few weeks; others require an entire semester.) One of the best ways to collect opinions is to choose your theological group (“I shall be progressive,” or “I will be evangelical,” or “I am a Barthian”), then sign up to all the opinions usually associated with that social group.

The inauguration as pilgrimage

January 18, 2009 No Comments

The inauguration is a ritual, akin to Muslims touching the walls of the Ka’bah in Mecca. It renders tangible the ethereal. It is a reminder that the government is like an idol, a fact that was well known to those who introduced the modern nation-state – the French even raised a new goddess after the revolution – but which goes entirely forgotten by us.

Obama names minister for prayer service

January 11, 2009 2 Comments

President-elect Barack Obama has selected the Rev. Sharon E. Watkins to deliver the sermon at the national prayer service that is held the day after the inauguration. Ms. Watkins, the first woman ever selected to lead the service, is the president and general minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a small, liberal-leaning Protestant denomination with 3,754 congregations and about 690,000 members in the United States and Canada.

Still more on the Obama church search

January 11, 2009 5 Comments

Barack Obama hinted in an interview on “This Week” on Sunday that he might choose a church outside the marble-monuments. The church may not be in the “company town” part of D.C. but instead in one of the District’s neighborhoods facing “enormous challenges,” he said.

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Author: Nicholas Knisely