Washington Post On Faith: The inspiration may be religious but the policy that will prevail must always be pragmatic. Continue Reading

When I was a child in the 1950’s, my father delighted in telling a joke about the four approaches to the law in Europe: In England, everything is permitted except that which is prohibited. In Italy, everything is permitted including that which is prohibited. In Germany, everything is prohibited except that which is permitted. In […]

Huffington Post: When the boundaries between helpful and harmful speech are unenforceable, what can we do, in church or state, to reinforce and protect those recognized boundaries?… Continue reading

And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 I recently cited this beautiful verse in Micah in a piece for the Washington Post On Faith panel. I was struck by a commenter on that forum who criticized my […]

Washington Post On Faith: Freedom of speech is one of the utterly essential pillars of government of, for and by the people. For me, the most serious moral implication of incendiary political speech is the way it exploits this necessary element of our body politic. Continue Reading

Last fall, one of the frequently asked questions about marriage and gay and lesbian couples was posed during a discussion at Princeton Theological Seminary: If gay and lesbian couples can’t have children then how can they legitimately be married since the primary purpose of marriage is the bearing of children? At the time, I replied […]

Washington Post On Faith: We may all share fear, but we also all share hope that it will get better and faith that the divine wills peace. History teaches us all: Peace never comes through violence. Love your neighbors, including your enemies. Continue Reading

I am a great fan of New Year’s resolutions. As December turns into January, I find myself taking them pretty seriously, pondering what one or two resolutions I might make for the coming year. What is most important to me is choosing something that I can make into a habit, thereby improving my way of […]

Tonight, during Christmas Eve worship services around the world, the mysterious heart of Jesus’ coming — the incarnation of God — will be placed before us in the reading of the first chapter of the Gospel of John, particularly this verse: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his […]

Washington Post: As a mother, I yearn with my whole heart to give homeless LGBT youth a home. And as a Christian, my hope is that churches around the country would at the least be providing a spiritual home in their time of need. Continue Reading