Click on the title to this posting, and you’ll end up at a wonderful commentary by a parish pastor in Clarion, PA. He has said in much better words that I ever could why prayer belongs in the religious and private sectors, not as ceremonial or civic rituals at public gatherings. God bless him.
Category Archives: Faith & the Church
“A (wrong) Church-State Solution”
Noah Feldman, in today’s New York Times Magazine, offers a misguided solution to the church-state tension in this country. Citing a divide between Values Evangelicals and Legal Secularists, he suggests that all government funding should be withdrawn from religious institutions (would this include government research grants or student loans for universities such as Notre Dame?)Continue reading ““A (wrong) Church-State Solution””
Church/State Separation
The Supreme Court this week gave a split ruling on the display of the Ten Commandments in court houses. It’s hard to argue against historical displays dating over 150 years old, such as that in the Supreme Court. But I wouldn’t call a monument erected in the 1950s historical (the Texas state courthouse Ten CommandmentsContinue reading “Church/State Separation”
Ten Commandments Countdown
Today the Supreme Court (whose chief justice is a Lutheran) will rule on the constitionality of displaying the Ten Commandments in courts. I have no idea how they’ll rule, but I’d love to see them rule against the public display of the commandments. The commandments are inherently a religious document given by God to aContinue reading “Ten Commandments Countdown”
The Church’s (Clear?) Mission
Over the past four years, in my current and previous jobs and in my volunteer work with the local synod, I have had the joy of talking with dozens – hundreds, perhaps – of pastors, church professionals, and volunteers from Lutheran congregations throughout the northeast United States. I have talked with leaders of congregations thatContinue reading “The Church’s (Clear?) Mission”
The Lutheran Zephyr 