For about five years now, I’ve been beginning my morning period of prayer with a series of prostrations. For the bulk of that time, this practice has come from the sacred world of Islam—the graceful movements of salaat, offered five times daily by Muslims the...
What is mysticism? Is there a useful definition of this admittedly vague word? It's one of those words that means many things to many people. In her classic book Practical Mysticism, Evelyn Underhill offers a rather tongue-in-cheek survey of the many ways people define mysticism: as "a...
The summer after I graduated from high school, a scary dream and a book changed my life. One Saturday night, I had a nightmare about the world coming to an end. It was filled with imagery straight out of the Bible — darkness at noon, stars...
For many of us, Christianity simultaneously attracts and repels. We feel its power and beauty, but can’t shake the feeling that something’s just a little off about the whole thing. It’s a tension felt not only by folks on the outside or the periphery of...
Jesus said to the people, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). Eight years ago, I was living, for the first extended period of time, outside of the...
People are quick to point out fundamentalism in others, but few will recognize fundamentalism in themselves. Fundamentalism Found Everywhere When I was in my early thirties, and began to re-engage with the Christian faith in which I had been raised, I was not surprised that I stirred...
Most of you know the story—on the night before he died, Jesus shared a meal with friends. He took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this...
Earlier this month the Christian liturgical year made its annual upswing (or perhaps I should say descent) into the mysteries of Pentecost. Pentecost follows right on the heels of Jesus’s resurrection and ascension, and commemorates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on his early disciples—essentially...