Gillem asks, Please, people of the USA, stop considering yourselves the masters of the world, in the style of the citizens of the old SPQR (the senate and people of Rome). First put peace and justice in your own country, then you can think about influencing the many countries that you invade and dominate. This … Read more

For thirty-five years, I have never broken my New Year’s resolution: not to make any resolutions. But this year is different. I must have a resolution. Here it is: we must not allow Donald Trump, the Republican Party, or the incoming Congress to change or violate any part of our Declaration of Independence or Constitution. … Read more

José asks, Does being religious make people moral? My immediate answer is no! Being religious doesn’t automatically make people moral. It’s a difficult question, though, so let’s look at some different thoughts. For starters, I thought I was a Christian for years. Then along came the Evangelicals (Fundamentalists) who today operate so far from what … Read more

For years, I found church worship services boring, repetitious, uninspiring, and almost worthless. The format was always the same except on the first Sunday when it was Holy Communion, which was equally unexciting. The reenactment of the Last Supper, a powerful drama, was usually boring and confusing. What was its significance? The institution has been … Read more

The concept of marriage in 2024 is very different from when I was born in 1932. Few people were shacking up or having premarital sex (supposedly), and for the most part, marriage ceremonies were performed in churches and synagogues, not by judges or court clerks. I met my Anne in 1960 and wanted to marry … Read more

Carol asks, Why does the church talk about sin so much, especially in Evangelical and Roman Catholic churches? It seems clergy and parishioners constantly talk about it, and it makes me uncomfortable. I agree with you, Carol. Let me start with Jesus. He was born, lived, and died as a Jew. His ministry primarily was … Read more

My silence since November 5 has been deliberate. I haven’t known what to say after such a stunning defeat. I have a confession: I did unload on an Episcopal bishop whose reaction to the election was “Not everyone will be happy.” He didn’t like my rant about being a coward and giving Donald Trump a … Read more

The New Testament gives us different choices about who Jesus was. Let’s look at nine of them, and then you can pick the one that makes sense to you. Son of God—The Son of God is probably the title that would receive the most votes. Not mine! I don’t believe in an anthropomorphic God who … Read more

Greg asks, Why are you so down on the Trinity? You’re right, Greg: I am down on the idea of a Trinity. I have never understood it. Early in my ministry, a priest suggested that many aspects of the church are a mystery, and the Trinity is one of them. Because I was a young … Read more

When I entered the ministry in 1957, there was no such thing as a volunteer priest in the Episcopal Church. (Roman Catholic priests didn’t receive a salary, but their church gave them everything else.) On my first assignment, the church housed me and gave me an old car, medical benefits, a retirement fund, and $2,400 … Read more