Regular readers may remember the recent review of The Alchemist here, which also touched upon the unique biography of author Paulo Coelho. The book Coelho wrote before The Alchemist was The Pilgrimage, a story about his walking the Camino de Santiago which led him to...
Pilgrims Going to Church (1867), by George Henry Boughton The Pilgrims considered Christmas an abomination The Pilgrims — the people we celebrate each Thanksgiving, who came to America on the Mayflower, signed the Mayflower Compact and founded Plymouth Colony —...
As someone who's made a regular hobby of studying the Bible for about 30 years and counting, I find it hard to express how enjoyable the John P. Meier book series A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus has been to read. Chapter by chapter, Meier peels away...
Hubertus, Wisconsin — A view of Wisconsin's fall colors from the scenic tower at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill.Footage of our visit is included in the video above, shot for Amy's...
Who was Jesus of Nazareth, according to historical evidence? An ample crop of recent books on the "historical Jesus" has offered yet more answers to this perennial puzzle. Reza Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth sounds very intriguing. Misquoting...
Unfamiliar Fishes is the product a very fortunate convergence. Author Sarah Vowell has a delicious appreciation for the peculiar coincidences and ironies produced when cultures clash and combine into the slaw of American history — and Hawaii, our 50th state, is a...
Dry Bones, the video above by Dan DiFelice, is something that showed up in my Vimeo inbox the other day and caught my eye. It does not use the Dry Bones song.However, both this short film and the Dry Bones song share the same inspiration: the Old Testament's Book of...
It was on The Rachel Maddow Show back on August 10 that I first heard of the New Apostolic Reformation. That segment aired just before Rick Perry entered the 2012 presidential race, and just after his August 6th prayer rally — "The Response" — at Houston's Reliant...
Racine, Wisconsin — The heads and shoulders of Joseph and Mary emerge as snow melts around a plastic outdoor nativity set in front of a house on Pierce Boulevard on the eve of Valentine's Day — two weeks after the "Blizzard...
Science fans and people who study the Bible will certainly continue to debate evolution vs. creation for years to come, but for me the question is moot. As a syncretist, when I read those Bible verses in Genesis 1, I see them as a very early theory of evolution....
It is funny how a few random details, repeated together over time, can solidify into a ritual which becomes essential to your psychological comfort. This is one of mine — the 1961 movie King of Kings and its main theme music, written by Miklós Rózsa. I grew up...
By now, most of us are familiar with Rainn Wilson from The Office, where he plays Dwight Schrute, the megalomaniacal nerd paper salesman from a German beet-farming family with semi-Amish values. Wilson is also a huge celebrity in the Twitter world where, as...
There were a number of interesting moments in Saturday night's "Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency," but one that I have not seen mentioned came as part of John McCain's response to a question about taxes. Part 5 of Pastor Rick...
Reading Andrew Sullivan's acclaimed piece pn Election 2008 in last December's Atlantic magazine, I noted the emphasis on Barack Obama's religious conviction and how one Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright introduced Obama to Jesus Christ. Sullivan was wowed: To deploy the...
Jesus Camp is an Oscar-nominated documentary about an evangelical Christian camp for kids in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, and, more broadly, about the political militancy of America's religious right. It was directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing. [includeme...
Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field...
I first saw Bart D. Ehrman last March 14 when he was interviewed on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Prior to that, he guested on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The cover of Ehrman's book proclaims it a "New York Times Bestseller." There's even another book refuting his...
Mākena, Maui, Hawaii — Socializing at Keawalaʻi Congregational Church after Sunday worship service.
Florence, Italy — The west side of Giotto's Campanile (bell tower) is seen at dusk from street level on the Via de' Pecori. Obscured at left is the Battistero di San Giovanni, and behind that is the dome of Florence...
Florence, Italy — The east side of Giotto's Campanile (bell tower) is seen from atop the dome of Florence Cathedral (the Duomo — or Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore). Designed by the early Italian Renaissance painter and...
Siena, Tuscany, Italy — Siena Cathedral, designed and completed between 1215 and 1263, with its façade and the bell tower of black and white marble.
Paia, Maui, Hawaii — Makawao Union Church, at 1445 Baldwin Ave., designed by architect Charles William Dickey and dedicated September 2, 1917, on the site of the former Paliuli Sugar Mill, donated by Maui businessman and...
Paia, Maui, Hawaii — Statue at the shrine honoring Father Damien of Molokai, who spent over 16 years ministering to victims of leprosy (Hansen's disease) at the leper colony on Molokaʻi, and ultimately contracted and died...
Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii — Offerings including pineapple, apples, and flowers are left on the oracle tower at Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Historic Site on Oahu's North Shore overlooking Waimea Bay and Waimea Valley. A heiau is...
Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii — The Byodo-In Temple in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park near Kaneohe, Hawaii. This 1968 structure is a replica of the 900-year-old Byōdō-in Buddhist temple at Uji, in Japan's Kyoto...
Paris, France — The Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur ("sacred heart"), viewed from the base of the butte Montmartre in the evening. Along its railing, people are gathered to gaze at the Paris skyline.[includeme...
Paris, France — Notre Dame Cathedral, west facade: The tympanum of the Portal of Saint Anne, the rightmost and earliest of the cathedral's three western portals. Depicted are the enthroned Virgin with Child, visited by the...
Paris, France — West façade of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. One of the finest examples of French Gothic church architecture, the cathedral is located on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité, in the fourth...
Reims, France — Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Reims), the Roman Catholic cathedral where the kings of France were once crowned, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. Construction on this cathedral began shortly after...
Lahaina, Hawaii — The Apostolic Faith Church, with its "Jesus Coming Soon" neon sign, at 1211 Front Street. This location is a branch of the mother church — the Apostolic Faith Church at 1043 Middle St. in Honolulu, on the...
Waterford, Wisconsin — A Virgin Mary statue and a resting deer figurine decorate a headstone in Saint Thomas Aquinas Cemetery.
Union Grove, Wisconsin — St. John's Catholic Church, 1501 172nd Avenue.
Kenosha, Wisconsin — Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish procession through Kenosha's Columbus Park neighborhood during the church's annual festival in Columbus Park. [includeme...
Memphis, Tennessee — Full Gospel Tabernacle at 787 Hale Road, the church where Rev. Al Green is pastor.
Memphis, Tennessee — Posing with a couple we met during Sunday services at Full Gospel Tabernacle, Rev. Al Green's church at 787 Hale Road. Pastor Green was out of town when we visited....
Memphis, Tennessee — Amy with a couple of churchgoers we met at Full Gospel Tabernacle, Rev. Al Green's church at 787 Hale Road. Pastor Green was not present this particular Sunday....
Kenosha, Wisconsin — Sign displayed outside the convent of St. Casimir Church on Washington Road: "Blessed Virgin Mary, please pray for us," flanked by two American flags. [includeme...
Kenosha, Wisconsin — Founded in 1849 as a largely German parish, St. George Catholic Church merged with St. Casimir in 1996 to form St. Elizabeth Parish. The parish rectory, seen here, is located at 4804 7th...
Kenosha, Wisconsin — Founded in 1849 as a largely German parish, St. George's Catholic Church merged with St. Casimir in 1996 to form St. Elizabeth Parish. The church, erected in 1875, is seen here facing 8th Avenue adjacent...