by Mark Beckwith | Nov 7, 2023 | Uncategorized
The major conflicts in the world today– the wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Gaza, which capture our attention and churn our stomachs, are justified by ominous religious impulses. For instance, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 31, 2023 | Uncategorized
Halloween is a fun holiday for kids, partly because they have an opportunity to score lots of candy, which is restricted, if not forbidden, most of the rest of the year. But more profoundly, they get to dress up and live into a fantasy of being a princess, witch,...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 25, 2023 | Uncategorized
It is too much to take in: the atrocities in Israel and Gaza, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the waterfall of humanity gathering at the southern border, the chaotic dysfunction of Congress, the relaxing of gun laws coinciding with an acceleration of gun purchases — with...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 18, 2023 | Uncategorized
I am feeling emotionally and spiritually raw. Most people I have talked with this past week say they are afflicted with a dispiriting malaise. As the images, stories, options and opinions regarding Israel and Gaza flood various media spaces, my psyche bounces...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
The data suggests that the fastest growing religious group in the United States today are “nones”, which refer to the growing number of people who reply “none” when asked of their religious affiliation. Into this expanding vacuum is an attitude and a practice that...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 3, 2023 | Uncategorized
“I hope you burn in Hell.” I have read this condemnation several times over the past few weeks, the vitriol coming from someone who is incensed over someone else’s position or action. Over the years I have heard it said directly, not at me, but at a close friend...
