Christianity
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Quick! What the Hell is Pentecost?
By Wendy Thomas Russell | May 16, 2013
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From a historical perspective, Christianity didn’t start with Jesus’ birth, his death, or even his storied ascension to heaven. It started with Pentecost — the day the “Holy Spirit” entered a room holding Jesus’ apostles and entered each of them, an event which — as my minister uncle tells me — “makes the church the church.” Although Pentecost is chock full of religious significance, it is a holiday not widely celebrated. Sort of the opposite of Hanukkah, which is widely celebrated but not religiously important. My uncle says Pentecost is a bigger deal in liturgical churches, which [...] Read more – ‘Quick! What the Hell is Pentecost?’.
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Quick! What the Hell is Easter?
By Wendy Thomas Russell | March 28, 2013
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My favorite anecdote told by Teach Not Preach blogger Jim Morrison appears in one of his first blogs. As you may recall, Morrison is a World Religion teacher at a Minnesota high school, and has been for decades. This particular anecdote involves a junior named Angel — Angel! — who approached Morrison after class one day in 1997 to ask one, discreet question. “Is Jesus dead?” Morrison said the girl had waited until they were alone and appeared to be blushing when she asked the question. Morrison played it off warmly, but, inside, he was [...] Read more – ‘Quick! What the Hell is Easter?’.
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God’s (Alleged) Gender Proves Problematic for Some Parents
By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 18, 2013
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About a year ago — when my daughter was six — I noticed that she had been sitting in silence for a surprisingly long time. “Are you okay?” I asked. “I’m sad,” she said. “Why are you sad?” I asked. “Because,” she said, “God is a boy and not a girl.” “How do you know?” “I just know,” she said, glumly. “And why does that make you sad?” “Because,” she said. “I’m a girl.” I don’t spend a lot of time complaining about religion. Usually, I just don’t see the point. Religion is so big [...] Read more – ‘God’s (Alleged) Gender Proves Problematic for Some Parents’.
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Inject Some Religious Literacy into Your Valentine’s Day
By Wendy Thomas Russell | February 14, 2013
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For the most part, I’m fine with being a nonbeliever. Like Bill Mahr says, “it requires so little of your time.” But every once in a while, I’m struck by how limiting my worldview can be. Take, for instance, the fact that I’ll never be a Whirling Dervish. That’s a real bummer. I’d love to be able to spin like that. And even worse? The chances are almost zero that I’ll ever be sainted. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Wendy! Don’t be so negative! You are a fantastic person, and you help so many others [...] Read more – ‘Inject Some Religious Literacy into Your Valentine’s Day’.
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What’s Wrong with a Nativity Scene Made out of Dead Cats?
By Wendy Thomas Russell | January 31, 2013
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When my mom was in college at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, she had a sorority sister who interned for the local newspaper. One day, the intern was rummaging through the morgue (which, in pre-Internet days, is where they kept old clips) when she found a file labeled “Funny Brides.” The file was pretty self-explanatory; it was filled with stories about tasteless weddings and photographs of homely, unseemly or otherwise humorous-to-look-at brides and their grooms. Of course, she wasn’t about to keep this find to herself, so she brought the file back to the [...] Read more – ‘What’s Wrong with a Nativity Scene Made out of Dead Cats?’.
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Quick! What the Hell is Epiphany?
By Wendy Thomas Russell | January 7, 2013
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OK, y’all, I have to apologize. First, I’ve been traveling without my laptop for the last week and haven’t been able to update. Second, I’ve been really busy finishing up my book (!!) which has pushed the blog to the back burner lately. Case in point: My somewhat ill-thought-out previous blog post. Hopefully most of you got the gist of what I was trying to say, but if you didn’t, you can be sure you weren’t alone. That said, today is a new day, a new week and a new year! And there’s been a new [...] Read more – ‘Quick! What the Hell is Epiphany?’.
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A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part II)
By Wendy Thomas Russell | December 10, 2012
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Are you looking to introduce religion to your child in a neutral and decidedly non-devotional way, but don’t know where to start? Do you lack the knowledge you think you should have? Do your eyes sort of glaze over when you hear the words “religious literacy?” Then this shopping guide is for you! In honor of the Judeo-Christian month of giving, I’ve amassed some of my favorite resources in hopes that you’ll encourage your child to learn a bit more about the religious world around them — and have some fun while they’re at it. [...] Read more – ‘A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part II)’.
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A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part I)
By Wendy Thomas Russell | November 29, 2012
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In honor of the Judeo-Christian month of giving, I’m offering a few recommendations to add to your shopping lists. These are items I have bought myself, or will buy, or might buy, or probably won’t buy but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Seriously, if you want some assistance in “introducing” world religion and religious concepts to your kids, these are excellent tools. I’ll be publishing this in two parts: The first today, the second on Monday. Don’t look for this list to be repeated next year, by the way. In 2013, I’ll be recommending you buy [...] Read more – ‘A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part I)’.
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Research Shows Baby Jesus Crazy Popular
By Wendy Thomas Russell | November 26, 2012
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For the last few weeks, I’ve been prepping for the first edition of Relax, It’s Just God’s Shopping Guide, which, if all goes according to plan, will appear here on Thursday — just in time for the Christian and Jewish month of giving. (See how I timed that? Aren’t I clever?) The guide will give reviews and buying information about my favorite “props” — including toys, books, movies and music — all of which are intended to help parents talk to kids about religion without confusing them, scaring them or boring them to tears. Feel free to let [...] Read more – ‘Research Shows Baby Jesus Crazy Popular’.
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75 Reasons to Share the Bible with Kids (Even if You Don’t Believe Any of It)
By Wendy Thomas Russell | November 19, 2012
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If we want our children to be religiously literate — and who among us doesn’t, honestly? — then it behooves us to talk about the Bible in respectful terms, even if we don’t think much of it is true. When parents call the Bible “a book of fairy tales” (direct quote from my survey for nonreligious parents), it makes the whole thing seem silly and unimportant. And not just unimportant in a religious way, but unimportant in a universal way. I grew up with parents who talked about William Shakespeare like he was THE MAN (with [...] Read more – ‘75 Reasons to Share the Bible with Kids (Even if You Don’t Believe Any of It)’.
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