When Shrugging is Not an Option
- May/June 2025
- April 30, 2025
T. S. Eliot wrote a lot of seriously layered poetry. Anyone who takes the merest peek at “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” a 1915 paeon to angst, knows this—even if the poet himself claimed to not recognize most of what others dredged up. So I’ll happily quote from him, sure that I’m in
READ MOREIt is not uncommon for those of a particular faith majority to fall short in their duty to others. No one doubts that this applies in parts of the world and at different times to both Christians and Muslims. Perhaps because of the horrors of the Holocaust, there has been a reluctance to speak of
READ MORESince Vatican II (1962-1965), the Roman Catholic Church has experienced internal theological controversies regarding how to interpret and implement many of the reforms adopted at that time. Now Pope Francis I, formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, will have to address this as well as the many other challenges. A minority within the Roman Catholic
READ MOREThe American tradition of separation of church and state was established, in part, on a pillar of “no aid” to churches, fueled by Jefferson’s rhetoric in his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which said: “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful
READ MOREThe Chiapas region of south Mexico has been in turmoil for decades. It would not be outrageous to describe the situation there as civil war. The resulting human tragedy has gained the attention of all defenders of civil rights; even though the world media have not dwelled much on the area. In the eyes of
READ MOREOn January 14, 1963, newly elected Alabama governor George Wallace spoke his inaugural address in the front of the Alabama state capitol, and said:“Today I have stood, where once Jefferson Davis stood, and took an oath to my people. It is very appropriate then that from this cradle of the Confederacy, this very heart of
READ MORERecent actions by prominent evangelical Christians give evidence of compromise for the sake of political advantage, including what might be called one of the most striking theological sellouts in the history of the Christian church. The closing days of the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign witnessed a remarkable, almost unbelievable reversal on the part of the world’s most
READ MORE“It is a perfect time for schools to help students connect the dots between Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights and the freedom of religious expression in America. Dr. King’s call for justice was guided by his religious convictions and the liberty to act on those convictions. You’ve heard me say often on BreakPoint
READ MORETwenty some years ago I took my family (wife, toddler, and infant) to the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C. At one point I found myself alone, and I suddenly questioned my assumption that the toddler, my son, was with my wife, who also had the infant. As I stood in a gallery looking
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