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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
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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.

A Case of the Human Condition: The Center of the Universe? It’s a Little Beach in Michigan, of Course

January 30, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A channel crosses a sand beach and empties into Lake Michigan. Photo by BF Newhall

If I were drawing a map of the world, its center would be the little beach in Michigan where the Bass Lake outlet flows into the great, blue Lake Michigan. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Build a Wind Farm — Wreck Lake Michigan

January 23, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Lake Michigan with a colorful sky at sunset, seen from Michigan. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I saw the map and burst into tears. It broke my heart. Windmills, a hundred square miles of them, are being proposed for Lake Michigan – a couple miles off shore. In the lake. Beautiful, serene, life-giving Lake Michigan. Read more.

Theologian Harvey Cox: You Don’t Have to Believe to Be a Christian

December 12, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Church bell tower, whitewashed church in the Greek Islands. Photo by BF Newhall

I’d like to recommend Harvey Cox’s newest book to all my non-believer friends. So many of the sophisticated, highly educated people I know labor under the assumption that they have to believe – to assent intellectually to – the factuality of traditional Christian teaching. They don’t. And here’s why: The idea of a fixed creed to which a true Christian must subscribe dates back, not to the life of Jesus, but to the emperor Constantine. Read more.

GodsBigBlog: I’m Off to a Religion Newswriters Conference

September 7, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I’m off to a Religion Newswriters Association conference in Minneapolis. Religion and the Obama administration, religion and immigration, and The Case of the Disappearing Hymnal will be among the topics. See you when I get back!

GodsBigBlog: Does a Teacher Have the Right to Wear a Muslim Headscarf? A Nun’s Habit? A Sikh’s Turban? Not in Every State

September 3, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Three states still have laws on the books prohibiting public school teachers from wearing religious garments in the classroom.

A Case of the Human Condition: Flowers Bursting From the Dirt — How Do They Do It?

August 31, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

pink camellia blossom california. photo by bf newhall

They emerge from mud, manure, leaf rot, earthworms, sow bugs. And they are beautiful. How do they do it? Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: In Your Face Orchids

August 24, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Magenta orchid growing in orchid farm in Thailand. Photo by BF Newhall

Stupendously, outrageously beautiful orchids. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Atheists Are Coming – Out of a Closet Near You

A bumper sticker offered at the Religion Newswriters Conference in 2014 reads "Praying Is Begging." Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Openly Secular movement is calling on atheists in America to come out of the closet and declare their unbelief to friends, family and coworkers. Read more.

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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

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