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- Written by EJ Sweeney
When I arrived at divinity school in the late 90’s, there was a strong push at Yale to adopt inclusive language for God. So, for example, instead of calling the Trinity “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”, we were encouraged to say “Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer (or Sanctifier)”. Instead of referring to God as “He” or “Father”, to substitute the generic “God” or “Godself”.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Ideas, as they say, have consequences. Throughout history, the idea that God is male, that God has a gender, has had disastrous consequences. In many profound ways, it has been responsible for and contributed to Patriarchalism. But the idea is not Biblical. For centuries, the Church’s failure to teach clearly what Scripture says about “God’s gender”, has led many Christians to adopt patriarchal views and engage in discriminatory practices. It has led many women to feel alienated from God, or at least not as precious in God’s eyes. The idea that God is male is a very bad and misleading idea. It’s not what the Bible actually teaches.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
About ten years ago, a woman who happened to have survived the Holocaust as a child had a leak in the roof of her house. Being older, all her family was gone. She had to take care of the large, two and half story balloon framed house all by herself--she didn’t want to sell because it was full of so many good memories. So, she called in a contractor to fix the leak.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Pope Francis angered animal lovers everywhere with comments he made a few months ago. He was talking about the need to be more attentive to families living in poverty. The angry reaction came when he pointed out how much more time, attention, and money we devote to our pets than to the needs of the poor, especially children.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
A couple of weeks ago, I went to a local Ash Wednesday service to get my ashes. I couldn’t believe how packed the church was. The church I went to seats about four hundred people. Every pew was filled to capacity and people were standing along the outside aisles. Many others crowded into the Narthex--another two hundred by my count. There were so many people that the distribution of ashes, which normally takes five minutes or so, nearly took fifteen minutes!
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
The Cold War ended over thirty years ago, making a Russian invasion of another, sovereign nation unthinkable. And yet, once again we are watching the Hell of war unfold before our eyes. The images coming out of Ukraine are heartbreaking. In a rare act of unity and solidarity, the entire world is justifiably horrified and outraged. But the entire world is also shocked, perplexed at how such an unprovoked, naked act of aggression could be happening in 2022.
