I Am A Southerner Who Grew Up

The Decline And Fall Of The Modern Religious Right's Notion Of A Christian America Creates A Calmer Political Environment And, For Many Believers, May Help Open The Way For A More Theologically Serious Religious Life.

I Do Not Believe 'newsweek' Is The Only Catcher In The Rye Between Democracy And Ignorance, But I Think We're One Of Them, And I Don't Think There Are That Many On The Edge Of That Cliff.

I Believe History Will Come To View 9/11 As An Event On Par With November 22, 1963, The Date On Which John F. Kennedy Was Murdered, Cutting Short A Presidency That Was Growing Ever More Promising. Dreams Died That Day In Dallas; It Is Easy To Imagine The 1960s Turning Out Rather Differently Had President Kennedy Lived.

I've Been Accused Of Being Old Before My Time More Than Once. It's True That I've Always Felt An Affinity For, And Been Comfortable Around, Older People. I Attribute This To A Childhood Spent Around My Grandparents - And Even A Great-grandparent Or Two. I Wouldn't Trade Those Experiences For Anything.

Among The Many Problems With Taking The Bible Literally Is It Reduces The Most Mysterious And Complex Of Realities To Simple - Even Simplistic - Terms. Yes, Scripture Speaks Of Fire And Damnation And Eternal Bliss, But The Bible Is The Product Of Human Hands And Hearts, And Much Of The Imagery Is Allegorical, Not Meteorological.