@billtammeus.bsky.social
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To outsiders, religious ideas can seem weird, if not paranormal. So is there a connection between faith and paranormal events?
bit.ly/4ajlenx
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Is the 'paranormal' everywhere or just in certain eyes?
How do traditional religions view weird 'singularities'?
https://bit.ly/4ajlenx
1 day ago
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What do religion and the paranormal have in common, if anything? Maybe it's that they both try to explain the incomprehensible:
bit.ly/4ajlenx
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Is the 'paranormal' everywhere or just in certain eyes?
How do traditional religions view weird 'singularities'?
https://bit.ly/4ajlenx
2 days ago
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What, if anything, is the "paranormal," and how do institutional religions think, teach and act about it?
bit.ly/4ajlenx
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Is the 'paranormal' everywhere or just in certain eyes?
How do traditional religions view weird 'singularities'?
https://bit.ly/4ajlenx
3 days ago
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If you're in KC this evening or tomorrow evening, don't miss "Journey to Bethlehem," a free Christmas pageant at Second Presbyterian, 55th and Brookside:
secondpres.org/journey
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Journey to Bethlehem ā Second Presbyterian Church - Kansas City
https://secondpres.org/journey
4 days ago
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Yes, Christians are asked to help meet the needs of hungry, homeless and destitute people. But what about the various systems that produce such people? Can't we fix those?
bit.ly/4rvzrE1
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Christians are called to care for the overlooked and ignored, but how?
What are the systems that create so many emergencies for humanity?
https://bit.ly/4rvzrE1
5 days ago
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With so many emergencies of people needing food, shelter and other necessities, how are we to fix the systems that produce needy people? Good question:
bit.ly/4rvzrE1
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Christians are called to care for the overlooked and ignored, but how?
What are the systems that create so many emergencies for humanity?
https://bit.ly/4rvzrE1
6 days ago
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My latest Flatland column -- about the growth of Downtown KC churches in recent years -- now is online here:
bit.ly/3M6FUoA
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Downtown KC Renaissance Seeds Congregations
As civic, commercial and residential life has blossomed in Kansas Cityās Downtown in recent years, religious life has grown there, too.
https://bit.ly/3M6FUoA
9 days ago
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Do you know about liberation theology and its roots in Latin America? The man called the theology's founder is gone but still worth listening to:
bit.ly/3M87e5N
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Why the dead 'father of liberation theology' still matters
Gustavo GutiƩrrez continues to speak to Christians today
https://bit.ly/3M87e5N
9 days ago
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What can now-gone theologians still teach us? Oh, plenty. And we'd do well to listen:
bit.ly/3M87e5N
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Why the dead 'father of liberation theology' still matters
Gustavo GutiƩrrez continues to speak to Christians today
https://bit.ly/3M87e5N
10 days ago
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Allow me to introduce you to a theologian who says Christianity needs to return to one of its first virtues ā patience:
bit.ly/49CkmKc
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What if Christians recovered the religion's early virtue -- patience?
Such a move first would require, well, confession
https://bit.ly/49CkmKc
12 days ago
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Suppose the reason that American Christianity has been in decline for decades is its lack of patience. Here's the case for just that argument:
bit.ly/49CkmKc
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What if Christians recovered the religion's early virtue -- patience?
Such a move first would require, well, confession
https://bit.ly/49CkmKc
13 days ago
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Rabbis in the U.S. look a lot different than they used to. And a new study suggests there's more change to come:
bit.ly/4igvdvG
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What does the rabbinate look like in the U.S.?
A new survey offers some intriguing answers
https://bit.ly/4igvdvG
16 days ago
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Rabbis in the U.S. make up a changing group, a new study/survey shows. It's not yet clear what this means for Judaism here, but it's unlikely to look the way it did 100 -- or even 20 -- years ago:
bit.ly/4igvdvG
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What does the rabbinate look like in the U.S.?
A new survey offers some intriguing answers
https://bit.ly/4igvdvG
16 days ago
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As religion changes in the U.S. in many ways, so, too, does the picture of members of the clergy. Here's a surprising new report about American rabbis:
bit.ly/4igvdvG
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What does the rabbinate look like in the U.S.?
A new survey offers some intriguing answers
https://bit.ly/4igvdvG
17 days ago
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It can be difficult to know all the theological details of oneās own faith community, but shouldnāt most members know and understand the most central things?
bit.ly/49xDZ6h
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Do Catholics really understand what the church says happens in the Eucharist?
Bishops find plenty of ignorance among parishioners
https://bit.ly/49xDZ6h
19 days ago
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It turns out that many people of faith don't really understand their faith tradition very well -- and that includes Catholics, a Catholic publication reports:
bit.ly/49xDZ6h
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Do Catholics really understand what the church says happens in the Eucharist?
Bishops find plenty of ignorance among parishioners
https://bit.ly/49xDZ6h
20 days ago
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In his recently released "Apostolic Exhortation," Pope Leo XIV speaks to all people about why the need for empathy for the overlooked or ignored is at the heart of faith:
bit.ly/4i5i7kM
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Pope Leo XIV calls Christians back to what faith requires of them
His latest encyclical -- co-written with the late Pope Francis -- focuses on the poor
https://bit.ly/4i5i7kM
23 days ago
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In his half-year report card, Pope Leo XIV is showing many signs of his theological/pastoral connections to the late Pope Francis. On the whole, that's good for the Catholic Church in particular and for Christianity in general:
bit.ly/4i5i7kM
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Pope Leo XIV calls Christians back to what faith requires of them
His latest encyclical -- co-written with the late Pope Francis -- focuses on the poor
https://bit.ly/4i5i7kM
23 days ago
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Some six months after being elected, what can we say about Pope Leo XIV and his priorities for his church?
bit.ly/4i5i7kM
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Pope Leo XIV calls Christians back to what faith requires of them
His latest encyclical -- co-written with the late Pope Francis -- focuses on the poor
https://bit.ly/4i5i7kM
24 days ago
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A Catholic priest who tried to change church teaching about sexuality issues finally gave up. Now his wife -- yes, wife, now his widow -- tells his painful story:
bit.ly/3JWbe8M
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He learned what happens when strict religious authorities get challenged
But he challenged them anyway.
https://bit.ly/3JWbe8M
26 days ago
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This Catholic priest challenged his church about matters of sexuality -- but then paid the price:
bit.ly/3JWbe8M
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He learned what happens when strict religious authorities get challenged
But he challenged them anyway.
https://bit.ly/3JWbe8M
27 days ago
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Almost everything about the "War on Terror" that George W. Bush declared turned out to be the wrong approach. Now what? Good question:
bit.ly/47NadHY
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A 9/11 title will go here
We supported that vile, cruel war to our detriment
https://bit.ly/47NadHY
30 days ago
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Do you remember how you wanted the U.S. to react to the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Like most Americans, I got that wrong, as a new book shows me:
bit.ly/47NadHY
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A 9/11 title will go here
We supported that vile, cruel war to our detriment
https://bit.ly/47NadHY
about 1 month ago
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There's a lot on my blog today, including thoughts about a new book that eviscerates George W. Bush's "War on Terror."
billtammeus429970.substack.com/p/a-911-titl...
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A 9/11 title will go here
We supported that vile, cruel war to our detriment
https://billtammeus429970.substack.com/p/a-911-title-will-go-here
about 1 month ago
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A primary story about religion in the U.S. in recent decades has had to do with decline. But there are churches that are growing? How are they doing it?
bit.ly/4qJPj56
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Eventually a title will go here
Blogger Ryan Burge can help provide some answers
https://bit.ly/4qJPj56
about 1 month ago
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In a time when church attendance and membership has been sliding for decades, why do some churches grow? Good question:
bit.ly/4qJPj56
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Eventually a title will go here
Blogger Ryan Burge can help provide some answers
https://bit.ly/4qJPj56
about 1 month ago
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The parts of our cities that were redlined to prevent Black families from buying homes there are continuing to pay a high price for that racist decision:
bit.ly/4omMs0D
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A title will go here eventually
Decades later, negative results are almost everywhere
https://bit.ly/4omMs0D
about 1 month ago
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For many years, racist housing/mortgage policies created redlined neighborhoods in cities across the country, including KC. Those destructive chickens have come home to roost:
bit.ly/4omMs0D
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A title will go here eventually
Decades later, negative results are almost everywhere
https://bit.ly/4omMs0D
about 1 month ago
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Did you think that "redlining" neighborhoods was a long-ago problem? It may be illegal now but the problems it left behind still plague cities, including KC:
bit.ly/4omMs0D
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A title will go here eventually
Decades later, negative results are almost everywhere
https://bit.ly/4omMs0D
about 1 month ago
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People who take words literally, as if they're more than pointers toward some reality, aren't taking writing, including the words of scripture, seriously:
bit.ly/4qyK6Nq
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Words, words, words: Why they're the map and not the territory
Learning again from David Bentley Hart
https://bit.ly/4qyK6Nq
about 1 month ago
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People who love the power of words know that even when those words try to describe divine matters, they are not whatever it is they are describing:
bit.ly/4qyK6Nq
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Words, words, words: Why they're the map and not the territory
Learning again from David Bentley Hart
https://bit.ly/4qyK6Nq
about 1 month ago
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What to do in a profoundly divided country with a dysfunctional government and people in need? A pastors group emerging from the Black Church in KC has an answer: organize:
bit.ly/3WoE7wZ
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Taking āBold Political Stancesā To Fight Injustices
The new Greater Kansas City Pastors Association looks to revive the Civil Rights Leadership of the Black church
https://bit.ly/3WoE7wZ
about 1 month ago
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@razyc.bsky.social
āWestern Christianity has gotten the kingdom of God violently, tragically and blasphemously wrong," the author of an insightful new book says. See if you agree:
bit.ly/42Zf2fT
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Look for faith's purpose in what is hidden, lost and/or small
Lessons for religious people, especially those with big egos
https://bit.ly/42Zf2fT
about 1 month ago
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The path to a reliable and generative religious faith, a new book says, is to "unlearn our certainty." In fact, that may be the only path:
bit.ly/42Zf2fT
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Look for faith's purpose in what is hidden, lost and/or small
Lessons for religious people, especially those with big egos
https://bit.ly/42Zf2fT
about 1 month ago
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Given Trump's effort to get paid $230 million for past investigations into his actions, it's clear that the president really does believe in reparations. Let's hold him to that.
www.axios.com/2025/10/23/t...
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House Democrats investigate Trump's $230M restitution demand for Justice Department
The lawmakers called it "an outrageous and shocking attempt to shake down the American people."
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/23/trump-230-million-doj-democrats-investigate
about 2 months ago
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Lots happening today on my Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog, from American churches shrinking to something sort of opposite: religion in America becoming more important. Plus several other notes:
bit.ly/4nl567v
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The continuing shrinkage of Christian churches in the U.S.
Not yet clear how this ends
https://bit.ly/4nl567v
about 2 months ago
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For decades, American Christian churches have been shrinking -- and still are. Well, unless something else is happening, which it might be:
bit.ly/4nl567v
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The continuing shrinkage of Christian churches in the U.S.
Not yet clear how this ends
https://bit.ly/4nl567v
about 2 months ago
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How do you get people to take holy scripture seriously? One way is to use a bit of satirical humor to get their attention:
bit.ly/4hhWYU8
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With some humor, he's trying to get people to read the Bible seriously
Misuse of scripture is widespread
https://bit.ly/4hhWYU8
about 2 months ago
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The Bible is, well, serious business. But maybe one way to take it seriously (and not literally) is to have a bit of fun with it:
bit.ly/4hhWYU8
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With some humor, he's trying to get people to read the Bible seriously
Misuse of scripture is widespread
https://bit.ly/4hhWYU8
about 2 months ago
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One way to encourage people to read the Bible and take it seriously (not literally) is to approach the subject with a little humor. Really:
bit.ly/4hhWYU8
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With some humor, he's trying to get people to read the Bible seriously
Misuse of scripture is widespread
https://bit.ly/4hhWYU8
about 2 months ago
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Surveys show that people in religious congregations are happier than non-religious folks. If that's true, why? Some thoughts on my blog today:
bit.ly/4nQxX4H
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Are people of faith really happier than others?
A perplexing question, for sure
https://bit.ly/4nQxX4H
about 2 months ago
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It turns out I'm not the only Tammeus with opinions who shows up in The Kansas City Star's editorial pages. Here's a gift link to a great column today by my daughter Kate:
www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
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We have no idea what fired Johnson County teacher faced in the classroom | Opinion
Unless this is your profession, you donāt know what it takes to lead a classroom of 20 to 30 students every day. | Opinion
https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article312498756.html?giftCode=946928848e39b61e6611d0ca9d9c568a52c993619032195b5884ec865e239cd6
about 2 months ago
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If studies are right, people of faith seem happier about life than others. If that's true, why? That subject and more on my Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog today:
bit.ly/4nQxX4H
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Are people of faith really happier than others?
A perplexing question, for sure
https://bit.ly/4nQxX4H
about 2 months ago
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Do we always know the burdens the people next to us are carrying? Their wounds? Their traumas? No, so we must treat them well:
bit.ly/46MnwJv
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In many ways we're surrounded by people in crises who are hurting
A book about fathers asks us to be good neighbors
https://bit.ly/46MnwJv
about 2 months ago
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Often without knowing it, we are with people -- even in religious services -- who are in some kind of crisis. We need to be more sensitive to that reality:
bit.ly/46MnwJv
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In many ways we're surrounded by people in crises who are hurting
A book about fathers asks us to be good neighbors
https://bit.ly/46MnwJv
about 2 months ago
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Even at worship services we often are surrounded by people -- like the author of this new book -- experiencing crisis. We'd do well to be alert to that reality:
bit.ly/46MnwJv
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In many ways we're surrounded by people in crises who are hurting
A book about fathers asks us to be good neighbors
https://bit.ly/46MnwJv
about 2 months ago
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On my Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog today you'll find thoughts about A.I. and, separately, our distressing gun culture:
bit.ly/48qyENz
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Pope Leo may need this help to warn about the dangers of AI
Karth Barth to the rescue
https://bit.ly/48qyENz
2 months ago
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When Pope Leo XIV criticizes artificial intelligence, he needs more arguments. I've found him some on today's Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog:
bit.ly/48qyENz
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Pope Leo may need this help to warn about the dangers of AI
Karth Barth to the rescue
https://bit.ly/48qyENz
2 months ago
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As we Americans try to understand and overcome the profound challenges facing us now, we can learn from Indigenous wisdom:
bit.ly/4gRemyI
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Maybe Americans can find their way forward by paying attention to Indigenous wisdom
A new book urges us to learn Native ways
https://bit.ly/4gRemyI
2 months ago
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If Americans paid more attention to Indigenous wisdom, we almost certainly would find our way through our current troubles more quickly. On my blog today I recommend a book that makes that argument:
bit.ly/4gRemyI
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Maybe Americans can find their way forward by paying attention to Indigenous wisdom
A new book urges us to learn Native ways
https://bit.ly/4gRemyI
2 months ago
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