I can answer a very qualified yes to the first question; so qualified that some may think it’s a no. The picture of post moral life is, for me as a Latter-day Saint, much more complex than the two-sizes-fits-all tradition of heaven or hell. And, whatever “hellish” options there are, they are slim to none for virtually all of us. In sum, I subscribe to the sentiments of KJV John that in the next world “there are many mansions” or habitations for the resurrected soul – with emphasis not only on the “many,” but also the “mansions.”

Continue »

Few words in religion are as ironic as “pagan” and that’s saying a lot. Stung by Jewish accusations that they were Pagans (for having two gods) and intent on theologizing their differences from the Roman cult, the followers of Jesus eventually succeeded in folding him into their mother’s milk of Jewish monotheism. He was spooned into the mix by the formulaic categories of Greek philosophy and the heresy-slaying councils of Christendom.

The determinedly triune dogma of traditional Christianity was made more rigid by Protestantism’s turn in the kitchen. Demonstrating an even greater jealousy on their god’s behalf, Protestants evicted the saints, as well as broke altars and images. Even the Americans, who despised creeds in favor of “Bible words for Bible things,” could not cut this cream out of their diet, but have kept whipping it through the centuries. God’s singularity and radical unrelatedness to creation defined his sovereignty and his sovereignty was the measure of his power to save.

Continue »

Pope Benedict’s preference for the Latin Mass is a good way to enter the question of what makes for good worship. I like the Latin Mass. I love the combination of sound, sight and scent that is the medieval rite in a cathedral setting.

But, I am not a Catholic and I do not rely on the rite as an instrument of grace. Rather, I appreciate it as art: art that stirs, not saves my soul. The Eucharist is, however, the central rite of salvation for billions of worshipers. What is it that communicates to its participants the hope of salvation, even immediate divine presence, and what impedes it? My Tennessee neighbors drive considerable distance from the parish around the corner to attend a Vietnamese mass. They are not Vietnamese and as close as he has gotten to Asia in his 92 years was Guadalcanal. So, why not Latin?

Continue »

It neither makes me think less, nor more of Mother Teresa that she doubted. It does, however, remind me of the integrity of her commitment -- her fidelity or, yes, faithfulness -- to a life oriented to God, even the imitation of Christ. Indeed, the discovery that Mother Teresa sometimes doubted and despaired may be best understood as a necessary dimension of that imitation and the “taking up of [her] cross,” as the Gospels describe discipleship. It was, after all, Christ who exclaimed on his cross “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" In these words, lament is joined to Christian faith and informs the command to “endure to the end.”

Continue »

The question “why do bad things happen to good or even not-so-good people” seems especially if not uniquely well suited to harass theists of all stripes. But, nobody has the answer to this question; only ways of thinking about it. Mostly we prefer not to think about it. Life is too often and casually assaulted, crippled and lost to bear much scrutiny. Everyday horrors, the vast majority of which do not make the nightly news, much less get an anniversary observance, are the rationalist’s evidence of God’s absence. Faith’s only reply is irrational hope and disciplined endurance oriented to succoring those in need.

Continue »

What makes a Christian is a popular question these days. As one who is usually counted out, I try to avoid participating in the calculation. That is more a moral than an academic sentiment, however. It asks for courtesy in granting others equal opportunity for self definition and not merely religiously.

But, we academics are category folk: we box things in to examine them more closely. We may not keep our boxes once our examination is through, but it is hard to think without them. Even the much lauded “thinking outside the box” requires the existence of a box, no? So, for the sake of answering the question, I would say that – for me – the Christian box contains those who believe that humankind is saved through the merits and mercy of Jesus Christ. As for what “saved” means, that happens outside my box. There, in an unboxable conversation, the issues are legion and, not least, concern whether salvation includes a literal, physical resurrection for Jesus and, through him, for the world. Christians over the centuries have disagreed about this and, based on the extant texts of the New Testament, equally rational interpretations reach opposite conclusions.

Continue »