Julie Wortman: The Episcopal Church’s General Convention will be considering a proposal that rites of blessing be developed to support “relationships of mutuality and fidelity other than marriage which mediate the Grace of God.” When I asked if you’d be willing to offer your perspective on whether such rites of blessing should be approved, you […]
A gay-marriage advocate in Boston explained to a radio reporter that marriage is a civil matter, not a church affair. Those who want church weddings can have them, but marriage is a matter of civil law. And since it is unconstitutional to deny equal civil rights to citizens, it is unconstitutional to deny to homosexual […]
“The root of all war is fear.”—Thomas Merton Our third grade classroom is filled with the colors of the rainbow. In it, Latoya’s map of her city of Asbury Park contains deep greens for parks and three shades of blue for the Atlantic, greeting her by way of the wind. She included some brown hues […]
Shortly after the city of San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples and within days of President Bush’s announcement proposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Aaron Brown interviewed Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, on CNN’s Newsnight. In the interview, Dobson stated his view that allowing gay […]
Many observers of the current debates over homosexual “marriage” assume that the only real reason anyone would oppose it is because of religious convictions—specifically, those informed by the teachings of the Christian Bible on the subjects of marriage and homosexuality. However, enacting such a religious definition of marriage into law is taken by some as […]
We are entering a season in our country that is full of vengeance, acrimony and truth distortion. It is the political equivalent of rape. It is an ugly and dark side not only of our political process, but far more importantly, our selves. If one needs a clear picture of this, then look no farther […]
The Other Journal (TOJ): I once heard a person say that they didn’t understand how someone could be a Christian and a Democrat at the same time. Do you think the current political divide in the country has hindered the unity in the Church? Tony Campolo (TC): I think the Church has contributed to dividing […]
Not much is new in election year politics. Two candidates emerge from their various party conventions. Stem-winding speeches are given. Rhetorical advantages wax and wane. Issues are discussed, sometimes accurately, sometimes less than accurately, and sometimes bald-faced lies are told. The voting public, bright as they are, can generally cut through the rhetoric to ferret […]
Sexual issues are tearing our churches apart today as never before. The issue of homosexuality threatens to fracture whole denominations, as the issue of slavery did a hundred and fifty years ago. We naturally turn to the Bible for guidance, and find ourselves mired in interpretative quicksand. Is the Bible able to speak to our […]