An apocryphal quotation often attributed to Martin Luther is that the soul of a forgiven man is like a "snow-covered dung heap." If Luther ever uttered the phrase, it has since been lost to history. Still, the erroneous quote has lingered for several ... (read more)
I am grateful for Rabbi Jacob Neusner's thought-provoking book on Jesus. Many passages express great understanding of Christianity and Christ. More importantly, throughout, Neusner expresses great respect for Christianity, and he deserves no less in ... (read more)
Jesus in the Gospel of John, Chapter 15 declares, "I am the Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser." (John 15:1) For a moment, he brings us far away from his looming crucifixion. Like the Garden of Eden, the Gardens of Babylon, the Vineyard of Isaiah ... (read more)
As I indicated in the first part of this series, Martin Luther did not seriously dispute the practice of indulgences. What he did dispute, however, was how the money was spent. I neglected to mention another aspect of his criticism, which really rela ... (read more)
I finished reading "A Rabbi Talks to Jesus" last night. I wrote an earlier article about it, that you can read here. The primary reason I picked it up was so that I could re-read "Jesus of Nazareth" with a fuller appreciation of what Pope Benedict ha ... (read more)
Martin Luther's theses are a touchstone of western history. In Luther's stand against the Pope, we may see parallels to George Washington's stand against King George or Dr. King's stand against the Jim Crow South. The Martin Luther of popular memory ... (read more)
I've just finished reading the second chapter of "A Rabbi Talks with Jesus," and I can see why it was recommended by Pope Benedict. It is serious discussion of another faith by a man, Rabbi Jacob Neusner, who takes faith seriously. The discussion doe ... (read more)
The coverage of the earthquake in Haiti reminds me of the Katrina coverage in that a great deal of the information seems, well, dubious. The aftermath of a huge natural disaster is often chaotic, making reliable fact-checking difficult if not impossi ... (read more)
