Posts Tagged ‘Beyond Belief’
Commentary | Let Common Sense Prevail In Battle Over Religious Liberty
The very day in late February that five Republican candidates for president participated in a smash-mouth debate in Texas with much moaning and gnashing of teeth about the erosion of religious freedom in the United States, these things also happened: I gathered with Episcopalians, Catholics, and mainline Protestants for a Bible study I help to…
Read MoreCommentary | A Local Love Story with International Echoes
As Doug Anning and Kirk Isenhour turned to walk up the aisle after an Episcopal blessing of their same-sex commitment to one another, the packed church erupted. I have never seen a sanctuary full of such joyful people. They were applauding, shouting, cheering, even crying. At the time, I posted a blog entry about it…
Read MoreExtraordinary Documentary Sheds Light on Today’s Clash of Faiths
It’s a story almost nobody knows, with particular relevance for a world in which religious misunderstanding fuels hatred and murder. Coming January 24th to the Kansas City Jewish Film Fest, “Besa: The Promise” tells a tale of hope and redemption amidst the horrors of the Holocaust. As a special attraction, the film will be followed by a…
Read MoreOne on One with Jonathan Butler
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Jan. 19, and has been updated with video from the event. Click on the play button above to hear excerpts from Jonathan Butler’s speech at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church Jan. 18. Long before Jonathan Butler held a hunger strike at the University of Missouri, sparking a campus-wide protest…
Read MoreFocus on ‘Spotlight’ Film Recalls Local Church Crisis
On Dec. 10, 2004, a few months before Robert W. Finn became bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, I interviewed him for The Kansas City Star about the challenges he might face when he replaced the much-loved Bishop Raymond Boland. Finn was coadjutor bishop at the time. Neither Finn nor I, of…
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