I remember specifically the terror I felt as a child in the basement of a Sears department store when I discovered that my curiosity had separated me from my mother—who was...

Language about God is a tricky business. A mentor stressed to me that speaking about God means trading in metaphors. They flutter between yes and no, opening vistas of understanding and...

“Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” It turns out that this does not promise followers of Christ that they will be free from...

I recently visited Maine’s Acadia National Park, an expansive natural treasure of 49,000 acres. The breathtaking landscape was carved out by glaciers in a past so distant that it stretches the imagination....

Communities have stories. If you think about it, there really is no hard and fast distinction between the story of me and the story of us. Every individual’s story contains numerous...

When was the last time you experienced awe or wide-eyed wonder? When have words escaped your ability to give expression to beauty? Or grief? In these moments we get a glimpse...

To an unknown god. The inscription on the altar might seem to be an example of people hedging their bet just in case they have missed something. If that is the...

When someone misrepresents me, I feel hot rage. I suspect you do too, but often we’re powerless to defend ourselves publicly. When David was slandered, which is the context for Psalm...

As Peter’s letter reveals, the early church was small and characterized by deep, communal, organic spiritual growth. The first metaphor he uses is shows the members as infants craving spiritual milk....

The early church was a collection of rejects. It first appears that Peter was addressing diaspora Jews scattered across modern-day Turkey (see 1 Peter 1:1). However, many interpreters argue that his...