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Ellen Painter Dollar

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Progressive Christian

2015-03-27T07:18:48-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Natural Family Planning Isn’t the Only Ethical Option for Christians: Why I Chose an IUD

Last updated on: March 27, 2015 at 7:18 am By Ellen Painter Dollar

As I cradled my third newborn in his first hours of life, I was seized by a single, overwhelming thought: Never again. I could not possibly have another baby. My “never again” was more than a wearily satisfied observation that our family now felt complete. My “never again” was a desperate plea, tinged with panic, stoked by fear. Panic is what sets in after you’ve had a c-section with an epidural that didn’t quite work, and you consider how it... Read more

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2015-03-18T11:27:42-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why “What Would Jesus Do?” Isn’t Exactly the Right Question

Last updated on: March 18, 2015 at 11:27 am By Ellen Painter Dollar

In college, my favorite professor assigned Charles Sheldon’s 1896 classic In His Steps when we were covering the Social Gospel in an American religious history class. In His Steps is a novel about a minister in an East Coast town who, after being shamed by his own failure to respond compassionately to a jobless wanderer, enlists his congregation in an experiment. He challenges them to begin asking, before they make any decision, “What would Jesus do?” At the time, I... Read more

2015-03-14T15:47:37-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Finding Common Ground on Abortion: An Interview with Charles Camosy

Last updated on: March 14, 2015 at 3:47 pm By Ellen Painter Dollar

Guest post by Karen Swallow Prior Note from EPD: This is the transcript of an interview conducted by my friend and colleague Karen Swallow Prior, professor of literature at Liberty University and author most recently of Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More – Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist, with Charles Camosy, author of a groundbreaking new book on abortion. I find Camosy’s approach to this divisive issue refreshing and hopeful; given my personal and professional interest in disability, I especially resonate with... Read more

2015-03-14T11:14:46-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Rethinking Margaret Sanger, Contraception, & How We are All a Moral “Mixed Bag”

Last updated on: March 14, 2015 at 11:14 am By Ellen Painter Dollar

A mixed bag. We are all a mixed bag. This is Theology 101, a most essential bit of Christian doctrine: We are all deeply flawed—“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3;23). And no matter what our flaws are, God’s grace is sufficient. I thought of this as I watched my friend and colleague Rachel Stone’s words being misconstrued, twisted, and blasted by fellow Christians yesterday. Read more

2015-03-04T10:28:42-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Remembering One of My “Cloud of Witnesses”

Last updated on: March 4, 2015 at 10:28 am By Ellen Painter Dollar

My "cloud of witnesses"—people whose stories have influenced my life, shown me what is important and led me in the way I need to go—is full of regular, imperfect people whose influence was also somewhat haphazard and unintentional. Read more

2015-03-02T13:08:47-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I Have Three Things to Say About “The Dress”

Last updated on: March 2, 2015 at 1:08 pm By Ellen Painter Dollar

A viral social media phenomenon that helps us understand just how fundamental and deep our differences in perception can be—and that those perceptions have nothing to do with whether we are good, thoughtful, and wise or bad, shallow, and silly—is more than a meaningless distraction. Read more

2015-02-18T17:25:50-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Believing with Our Bodies

Last updated on: February 18, 2015 at 5:25 pm By Ellen Painter Dollar

I go back to the paradox that our bodies both betray us and reflect our deepest, God-given self. I think of the broken, brutalized body of Christ on the cross, as he suffered through pain that was both horrific—a reflection of all that is wrong with this world—and redeemed—a means for God's grace to be revealed in a new, world-changing way. Read more

2015-02-09T15:24:29-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why Even the Smallest Good Work is Worth Doing

Last updated on: February 9, 2015 at 3:24 pm By Ellen Painter Dollar

Jesus showed us how even small acts of care are multiplied in God's economy, so that ultimately all are filled and satisfied—not because the economists and politicians and voters focus on big problems at the expense of little ones, but because every act of mercy, justice, and love is born in the heart of our infinite God and is therefore infinitely powerful, capable of bringing about change far beyond our limited vision of what's possible and prudent. Read more

2015-02-06T15:00:32-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why I Believe Native American Mascots Should Go

Last updated on: February 6, 2015 at 3:00 pm By Ellen Painter Dollar

My husband and I are fans of Washington, D.C.’s football team, which means we (especially my husband—I’m a fan because he’s a fan) have spent two decades of football seasons being disappointed. We are grateful, however, for the increasing pressure being put on the NFL and the team’s owners to get rid of the team name because it is linked to our nation’s sad history of stereotyping and mistreating Native Americans. © 2014 Fibonacci Blue, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio... Read more

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2015-01-29T15:06:02-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Perfect Pair of Boots and the Essential Work of Parenting

Last updated on: January 29, 2015 at 3:06 pm By Ellen Painter Dollar

I wonder if, as our children grow and their increasingly complicated needs outgrow our capacities to easily meet them, the physical care we offer actually becomes more important, not less. We love people by engaging in basic acts of care for them. That is the essential, sometimes undervalued, foundation of parental love. It's also the essential foundation of Christian love. Read more

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