Tammeus's Profile

What Hanukkah reminded us of this year: 12-11-18

Any national or international news story is personal for someone. When we flip the page of the newspaper or hit the TV remote to jump from CNN to the PBS NewsHour, the story we just left may not mean a... Continue reading

Posted yesterday at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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How and why we benefit from rituals: 12-10-18

For just a few minutes today I want to take you back to this past Wednesday and the state funeral service for former President George H. W. Bush. I do it not to talk about Bush's faith or what I... Continue reading

Posted 2 days ago at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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Why knowing the truth of history is so vital: 12-8/9-18

When we think about how -- as a nation, a state, a city, a neighborhood, a family -- we got to where we are today, one of the rules should be that we tell the truth as far as we... Continue reading

Posted 4 days ago at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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Understanding the LGBTQ picture in Kansas: 12-7-18

The progress of LGBTQ people toward full inclusion as equals under civil law in American society has proceeded by fits and starts. Sometimes nothing seems to happen for a long time. And then suddenly -- such as the U.S. Supreme... Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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What to learn from this season of waiting: 12-6-18

Manhattan, Kan. -- Out of flat, disinterested skies, an occasional drizzle of rain and a few snow flakes found their way to my windshield earlier this week as I drove here to give a talk to a church. The phenomenal... Continue reading

Posted 6 days ago at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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Let there be light and light and light and light. . .12-5-18

One of the mysteries that religion can help us think about is the size and shape of the observable universe, and especially the question of whether it had a creator, as religion postulates, or whether it just came into being... Continue reading

Posted 7 days ago at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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What we miss because of biblical illiteracy: 12-4-18

The stories about biblical and theological illiteracy in America are legion. One of the most egregious examples was the 1993 death of dozens of followers of self-styled prophet David Koresh at the home of the Branch Davidians outside of Waco,... Continue reading

Posted Dec 3, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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A few faith-based book for gift ideas: 12-3-18

Not long ago, I did mini-reviews here of a stack of new faith-based books to give you some ideas for gifts you might want to give this holiday season. Well, today I'm going to add a few new ones to... Continue reading

Posted Dec 2, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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A lesson in how not to be a missionary: 12-1/2-18

The other day here on the blog I made brief mention of the young Christian missionary killed on a small island east of India and of my view that he wasn't a martyr for the faith but, rather, a foolish... Continue reading

Posted Nov 30, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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The uses and misuses of religious symbols: 11-30-18

Back in the late 1970s, a British author named Ian Wilson wrote a book about the Shroud of Turin (pictured above in negative), believed by many to be the actual burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. I read it soon... Continue reading

Posted Nov 29, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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A new family survey raises values questions: 11-29-18

There is at least a little irony in the fact that I'm writing here today about family -- and a new survey about families -- because it was 22 years ago today that my family expanded considerably when I married... Continue reading

Posted Nov 28, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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What to do with underused or empty church buildings? 11-28-18

It surely cannot be news to most Americans that weekly attendance at worship services has been dwindling for decades. This is a pattern that began to establish itself some 50 or more years ago and has accelerated since then. Because... Continue reading

Posted Nov 27, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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A stranger who shares the planet with me: 11-27-18

People whose family members have died recently will tell you that being without them for the first Thanksgiving, Christmas or other holiday -- or even birthday -- is among the hardest things to do. Death always brings awe and wonder,... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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The imploding world for Middle East Christians: 11-26-18

Over recent decades -- both here and in other venues -- I have written about the persecution of religious people around the world, including Christians, who today are under immense pressure in various locations outside the U.S., but especially in... Continue reading

Posted Nov 25, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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When evil's darkness moves in: 11-24/25-18

As we move through this time of year when darkness overtakes light in the Northern Hemisphere, I sometimes wonder about the source of spiritual darkness -- those experiences when we might feel abandoned by a loving God or even embraced... Continue reading

Posted Nov 23, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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On Santa and his dependent clauses: 11-23-18

In modern American culture, today is the day that Santa Claus, that deeply meaningful religious figure formerly and formally known as St. Nicholas, has shown up in malls, department stores and pistol ranges or wherever to entertain children and teach... Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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Some multi-color gratitude for you: 11-22-18

I continue to be grateful for all of you readers -- even those of you who regularly disagree with me. My hope is that at least in some small way I complicate your thinking. So for today I say no... Continue reading

Posted Nov 21, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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What it means to be Jewish in America now: 11-21-18

For most of 3,000 years, Jewish people have faced the question of who they are. The answer from the Bible is that through Abraham they were chosen to be part of a covenant with God -- not for privilege but... Continue reading

Posted Nov 20, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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Two differing views of a religious America: 11-20-18

One thing that sometimes surprises people from other countries about Americans is that we are serious about religion, whether we're adherents of a particular tradition or not. That is, we love to argue about it, defend it, accuse it and... Continue reading

Posted Nov 19, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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A 'Muslim wave' is slowly changing U.S. politics: 11-19-18

Before the recent midterm elections there was a lot of talk about a potential "blue wave," in which Democrats would sweep back to power in the U.S. House and Senate. Well, that wave flipped the House, for sure, but not... Continue reading

Posted Nov 18, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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Should theology be studied or just lived? 11-17/18-18

Can there be a religion that has no theology? Well, Buddhism doesn't postulate a deity, so there's a long-running debate about whether Buddhism is a religion or something else. And since the word theology means the study of God, perhaps... Continue reading

Posted Nov 16, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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You can help the poor find legal services: 11-16-18

As I've said here and in other venues more than once, one of the primary concerns of institutional religion -- at least in theory if not always in reality -- is for the welfare of people in poverty and need.... Continue reading

Posted Nov 15, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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When clergy are on the front lines: 11-15-18

Any time I read or hear about some kind of natural disaster or a catastrophe like a mass shooting, one of my first thoughts is for the clergy who will, necessarily, be required to respond in some way. They, too,... Continue reading

Posted Nov 14, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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Solving national problems region by region: 11-14-18

Because of the recent massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue, that city's elected officials are thinking note about what Congress or Pennsylvania's state legislators can do but, rather, what they can do locally to prevent deadly assault weapons from being used... Continue reading

Posted Nov 13, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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The geographic roots of the Abrahamic faiths: 11-13-18

Today is a good day to remember that the three Abrahamic faiths -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- all have roots in Asia and that some of the early leaders in Christianity came from Africa. Why today? Because it was... Continue reading

Posted Nov 12, 2018 at Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog

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