There is perhaps a fuller sense of context than critics of the Archbishop’s recent comments are willing to acknowledge. Not only is the Archbishop addressing the complex socio-political situation in England, but his spiritual guidance extends to parts of the African continent in which tension between Muslims and Christians often leads to mistrust, at the least, and bloodshed at worst. For the Archbishop, this is perhaps as much a pastoral issue as a political one. This is a very difficult balance to hold on a public stage.

As for the accommodation of the Scriptural assertions of any faith tradition in civil law, I believe that would occur only through the course of legislative debate on a given point. The civic debate could well contain elements of the implicit values of various faith traditions, and would succeed or fail based upon the reasonableness of the argument to legislate that given point.

Archbishop Tutu is the world’s foremost authority on the power of forgiveness to transform society. His work in South Africa was a gift to the world, and there is little I might constructively add to his example. In Tutu’s Gospel-driven model, the victim consciously declines the right to pursue revenge against an oppressor, and the oppressor finds freedom in confession. Somehow, all of the beauty of theology is summed up in this equation, and it has the power to transform the world.

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Yes, I would agree. And from my Christian, pastoral perspective, I would say that we will in the end be judged by the love we are able to show others. Sadly, we tend to focus on our divisions, rather than working to diminish the walls between us. As religious people, we must ask ourselves why our identities are so often constructed in opposition to "the other." The guiding spirit of love is splendid in its variety. Yes, in the end we will be judged by the ways we find to express God's love to our fellow human beings, and creation as a whole. By the ways we find to live in peace, loving and serving the Lord.

I invite you all to further engage this idea at this year's Trinity Institute, when the faith community I am a part of in New York City will explore religion and violence, in an attempt to work through the conflicts that so often befall us. You can watch online.

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Mr. Hitchens is wrong because of the innumerable exceptions to what he would have as a universal rule that religion is unhealthy for humanity.

From a pastoral perspective, I would find no merit in arguing in favor of somehow abolishing religion or spiritual practices. There are simply too many religious communities and religious people across the globe that provide hope, healing, and help for millions.

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I would appeal to the universal tenets on love of God and love of neighbor. If any of our actions do not serve love and respect the life and dignity of humanity, these actions are not in accord with the foundational principles of religious traditions. In faith and hope we might look to the future together, knowing that the fuel for a world of good is love.

Doubt is the fertilizer of faith. We don’t grow without it. I would never presume that Mother Teresa’s faith was sealed with certainty. These thoughts of hers make her in my mind all the more human, and all the more essential a religious figure – one in a never-ending relationship with God. Doubt is in and of itself dialogue in that relationship.

If Einstein is correct and energy is neither created nor destroyed, we have energy and therefore in some basic way we continue. The concept of heaven and hell are helpful images of fulfillment or disintegration. Drawing upon my spiritual tradition I would understand saying yes to God as being drawn into that fulfillment by God's grace. Saying no would be a way of self selecting out of that ultimate fulfillment.

Am I satisfied?

Satisfaction usually comes with conclusions – at the end of projects, at the end of meals, when we can say “job well done,” or, “I’ve had enough.” Describing myself as satisfied seems to miss the point, though. I am committed to living with God at the center of my life, and with that certainty comes a necessary lack of conclusions: the work that God calls us to do is never done.

And yet I am still fulfilled. There is an important distinction between satisfaction and fulfillment.

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Yes, Jesus taught revolution. But to say that revolution was the goal of his ministry somehow diminishes Jesus' divinity, I think.

You might say that Jesus taught revolution in an evolutionary way. Revolutions are exclusionary. Because of his divinity, Jesus was here for us all, even his enemies. Revolution is a political and outwardly focused word. Jesus was supra-political, beyond our limited conception, and he was also concerned with our internal, personal transformation.

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