When I was child, on many occasions we recited the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught 2,000 years ago. It begins “Our Father,” which brought God closer to us than the awe-inspiring God of the Jews. Not to say that this version of God isn’t awe-inspiring! I think Jesus had great respect for his Heavenly Father, … More Is God’s Love Paternal or Parental?
This morning I saw a strange flickering of light and dark across the trees in our neighbor’s yard. Could it be smoke? Surely not a fire! I ran outside and heard such loud sounds. At first, I didn’t know what it was. But then, I saw a huge crowd of big birds flying around. They … More God’s Heart towards Creation
During a recent meditation I had a deep experience. It started by entering an antique store with some friends. The store was dusty and full of old things, mostly junk. Nothing was very interesting to me. The owner, an old man, approached me and invited me to come to a back room. When we entered … More The Unbroken Heart
While I was growing up my family were not regular church-goers, but I have clear memories of the Religious Instruction (RI) classes in school. In elementary school we had a blue book containing Bible stories with age-appropriate illustrations. We learned about Noah’s ark, Joseph’s coat of many colors, and Jesus being born in a manger … More Experiencing Religious Diversity
I wasn’t always an author, or even an editor, but I was always some kind of academic. With parents who were teachers, my mother a music teacher and my father a psychology professor, that’s not really surprising. But my interest initially was in science, so the only writing I did and was trained to do … More Becoming an Author
We have all written essays, too many essays, in high school, in college, job applications, and they were mostly terrible. At least I have great confidence that mine were. I did go to university, but not the one that required the essay. I did pass my English classes, but I did not get good grades … More On Writing Essays
I was approached to work with Ginger Nicholls on a book about her experiences as a Unification missionary in Nepal a few months ago. At first I was hesitant, not knowing what to expect and being rather ignorant about Nepal. But now I have confidence that Ginger and her husband John, who surely deserves a … More Reflections on publishing the book, “The Kalki Avatar – Tears for Nepal”
The thought “Cain was in pain!” came to me out of the blue the other day, so I took time to reflect on it. We know the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis; Cain killed Abel, the first murder and between brothers no less. Not a pretty story! So, if Cain was in pain … More Cain was in Pain!
As a Brit growing up in Scotland I was raised on tea, of course. We always had a pot of tea, not with teabags, the real loose tea leaves put directly in the pot: “One teaspoon per person and one for the pot” was the correct amount to use. You warmed the pot first while … More Tea
What is the purpose of religion? I recall as a child being told it meant to rebind (to God), or to bring back to God. That seemed to make sense since the religion I was familiar with, Protestant Christianity, was all about how sinful we were and how Jesus came to save us. We also … More What is the purpose of religion?
Jennifer P. Tanabe 