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Sports and Religion

2017-12-25T09:15:46-05:00

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.

Christmas Day

Last updated on: December 25, 2017 at 9:15 am By Jim Meisner Jr.

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Christmas

2017-12-20T23:07:36-05:00

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.

Virgin birth? What difference does it make?

Last updated on: December 20, 2017 at 11:07 pm By Jim Meisner Jr.

As sure as Christmas means Santa and gingerbread, someone asks about the “virgin birth.” Some Christians find value in the Biblical birth narrative. Some demand belief in the Virgin Mary or belief in the scriptures that give us the Christmas story of a babe born in a manger. But early Christians weren’t as concerned with the birth of Jesus, as they were concerned with the death and resurrection of Jesus. The story of Jesus’ birth is in only two of... Read more

2017-12-15T12:07:15-05:00

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.

Shamash — the helper

Last updated on: December 15, 2017 at 12:07 pm By Jim Meisner Jr.

A seven-branched menorah symbolizes Jewish Temple tradition. The nine-branched Hanukkah menorah is lit during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah. A new branch is lit on each night of Hanukkah. In the ancient story, when the Maccabean revolt led to the restoration of the Temple, there was only enough oil to light the lamp for a night. But in miraculous fashion, each evening enough oil remained for another night. And then another, and finally enough oil for eight nights. The ninth... Read more

2017-12-12T09:11:27-05:00

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.

Hanukkah

Last updated on: December 12, 2017 at 9:11 am By Jim Meisner Jr.

Kiel, Germany, December, 1931. Rachel Posner, the Rabbi’s wife, took this photo in her living room, across the street from the Nazi headquarters. It was the last night of Hanukkah. Hate, vitriol and racist lies were sweeping across Germany. Rachel wrote upon the back of the photo: “Chanukah, 5692. ‘Judea dies’, thus says the banner. ‘Judea will live forever’, thus respond the lights.” Rabbi Posner recognized the dangers of the Nazis, and encouraged any Jewish people who would listen that... Read more

2019-12-08T09:01:09-05:00

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.

St. Nicholas might be a Klingon

Last updated on: December 8, 2019 at 9:01 am By Jim Meisner Jr.

Christmas

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St. Nicolas

2017-12-05T14:28:00-05:00

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.

As much as we'd like to see Nazis get punched in the face

Last updated on: December 5, 2017 at 2:28 pm By Jim Meisner Jr.

As much as we’d like to see Nazis get punched in the face, https://youtu.be/9rh1dhur4aI It’s wrong to punch people in the face. Even racist, bigoted, Nazis. Even racist bigots who feel emboldened by the support of the President of the United States. We live in interesting and difficult times. Hate crimes are on the rise, emboldened by Nazis, bigots, and racists roaming our city streets and our halls of power. Much as we might like to punch them for being... Read more

Martin Luther King JR.

punch a Nazi

Richard Spencer

Trump is a racist

2017-11-28T13:11:45-05:00

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.

Stress

Last updated on: November 28, 2017 at 1:11 pm By Jim Meisner Jr.

Life is stressful. The news is stressful. All forms of social media are stressful. Finances, college funds, finding a new job, car repairs, relationships, family — the list goes on and on. Internal issues like fear and insecurity can create stress faster than a rock in your shoe. This doesn’t even include major life moments like deaths, divorces or marriages. Everything is stressful. Happy times can create stress. A graduation, a birth, a promotion, all are stressful, even when we... Read more

Don't worry? That's easy for you to say

2017-11-26T14:27:29-05:00

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.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and a cat

Last updated on: November 26, 2017 at 2:27 pm By Jim Meisner Jr.

During the week before Christmas last year, my Facebook page lit up like a Christmas tree. Every hour the interaction and reach grew, and then grew faster. Increasing by more than 1,000 percent. The page reached 2.3 million people and gained more than a thousand new likes in a week. The post reached a total of more than 2,340,000 from around the world. People really like cats. Not a clever meme or insightful comment. A picture of a cat in... Read more

2017-11-25T23:18:33-05:00

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.

What masks do you wear to hide your authentic self?

Last updated on: November 25, 2017 at 11:18 pm By Jim Meisner Jr.

What makes us who we are? I’m not talking about the roles we fill — doing work, raising children, being a spouse, a friend, or a member of the choir. What person are we as we perform the roles of our life? Are we the same authentic person as God made us? Or do we wear different masks in different situations? Do you wear a work mask? A friend mask? A parent mask? A child mask? A mask for your... Read more

Family systems theory

masks

Romans 8

2017-11-24T19:14:10-05:00

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.

Who is thankful for you?

Last updated on: November 24, 2017 at 7:14 pm By Jim Meisner Jr.

If that’s how they talk to each other in public, I thought, I can’t imagine how they speak to one another at home. I was at the grocery a few days before Thanksgiving. Another middle age couple passed by, arguing over a seemingly inconsequential subject. Neither spoke kindly to the other. Playing out a well-worn script so viciously, they obviously have said the words before. I couldn’t imagine living in their home. We all can suppress or fail to express... Read more

culture

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counting our blessings

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