Some of my family members were uneasy at the thought of standing up at my mother’s memorial mass to read from the Bible, a document they didn’t believe in. I told them I thought belief was seriously overrated.
My Rocky Spiritual Journey
You don't have to be a big believer to find something interesting to read here . . . You'll find excerpts from the spiritual journeys of people I've met on the religion beat as well as reports of my own fraught encounters with religion and spirituality . . . as well as updates on my book, "Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith," from Patheos Press.
The Somethingists — They Don’t Believe in God, but They Do Believe in . . . Something
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The Helix Nebula. NASA Photo.[/caption]
The Helix Nebula. NASA Photo.[/caption]
Good news for those of us – count me in – who aren’t at all sure of what God is like. It’s called Somethingism. Read more.
The Rise of the “Nones” – Young Americans Are Doing Without Church
I was in Bethesda, Maryland, for the annual Religion Newswriters Association conference last weekend. Here’s what I found out about the religiously unaffiliated in America. Read more.
Religion Scholar Huston Smith at 93 — ‘Be Happy!’
Ninety-three-year-old Huston Smith rolled into the Sagrada bookstore in Oakland, California, in a push wheelchair the other day, ready to do what he does best – say something. At 93 and plagued as he is by hearing loss, weakened eyesight and debilitating osteoporosis, you’d think the popular author and religion scholar would be ready to take it easy. Not so. Read more.
Buddhist Writing — Wisdom or Chicken Shit?
Jack Kornfield and Sylvia Boorstein are two of my favorite Buddhist writers. But I don’t follow their advice entirely — I don’t meditate.
Buddhist Teacher Jack Kornfield on Sex, Drugs and Enlightenment
Want to know more about the sex lives of Buddhist teachers in America? Are you considering downing some ecstasy or a bit of mushroom to fast-track your spiritual growth? Wondering about that person in the meditation hall who seems to be having a psychotic break? Check out Jack Kornfield’s book.
My Mother’s Goneness
My mother is gone, but when she died, she left a few things behind — a battered old purse, a small sofa she liked to call the loveseat. Read more.