Blog Obama, Faith Talk, and Religious Rhetoric Soon after the 2012 election a Perspectives editor asked me to write about the diminished role overt faith had in…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellJune 29, 2013
Blog Can Churches Split? The question—can churches split?—reminds me of the bromide attributed to Samuel Clemens. Do you believe in infant baptism? Believe in…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellJune 18, 2013
Blog Stop Reading the Bible in one year. We all are familiar with those programs that provide a schedule to read the entire Bible in…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellJune 4, 2013
Blog Waltzing with the Trinity The Sunday after Pentecost, this coming Sunday, is known as Trinity Sunday. I used to make fun of Trinity Sunday.…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellMay 21, 2013
Blog Arendt, Augustine, and Evil The Boston Marathon bombing seems like increasingly "old-news," although Jeff Munroe’s post last week, "I’m Not Done With Boston" generated…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellMay 7, 2013
Blog Three Goes at Truth You’re watching Jeopardy. The category is “Pastoral Conversations.” The answer is “A stick that smart men use to beat up…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellApril 23, 2013
Blog Being Taken Where You Do Not Want to Go Last Saturday, Debra Rienstra looked at the well-known post-Easter story of Jesus and “doubting Thomas,” and the great crescendo at…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellApril 9, 2013
Blog Pilates Bad joke alert! Brace yourself.“So,” says the fitness buff to the pastor, “what kind of pilates was this ‘Pontius’ that…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellMarch 25, 2013
Blog Could I Be, Should I Be, a Catholic? The Papal Conclave is here. With no presidential horserace to handicap, the media has turned its attention to Rome. People…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellMarch 12, 2013
Blog Jim Brownson’s New Book The little pond I swim in, the Reformed Church in America, has not, in my memory, anticipated a book as…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellFebruary 25, 2013