There is an old story about two very competitive classmates at an Ivy League college. For four years they jockey with each other to see who can get better grades, lead more organizations and collect more invitations to various parties and societies. As often happens, even though so much of their college careers are defined by their relationship to each other, soon after graduation they…
I write this article as Americans across Pennsylvania and the country exercise their civic duty and constitutional right to vote. Regardless of your political affiliation no one can deny that America is the greatest democracy the world has ever known. We do not always get it right but at least we try. There is money and special interest in politics but our vote does still…
Last month, I wrote that during the Jewish Holidays I would not charge my community with the mission to find answers, instead I would exhort them to spend the next year asking good questions. Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur have now passed and this week, as if to underline my request, we are about to embark upon the Jewish Festival of Sukkot. To quote that…
On Sept. 11, two gay men were attacked in Philadelphia. While the investigation is ongoing it appears, based on the facts so far reported, that this was a brutal attack undertaken by three if not more young men and women. As I read this story I was saddened by the fact that this happened in America let alone in the city of Philadelphia. I do…
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks teaches that one of the reasons that Isadore Rabi, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, entered the field of physics is that each day when he returned home from school as a child, instead of asking him what he had learned in class as his friends’ parents did, Professor Rabi’s Jewish mother inquired instead, “Izzy, did you ask a good question today?” Judaism…
Today the Islamic State otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL released a horrific and graphic video of the beheading of Steven Sotloff. This follows the beheading of James Foley a few weeks ago. As Americans and as Christians we must pray for the families of Mr. Foley and Mr. Sotloff. We must continue to pray for the others held captive by this evil group of…
Earlier this year, Hollywood released a new, big budget cinematic telling of the story of Noah and the Ark. It had big-name stars, lots of special effects, it was shot in 3D and people were very impressed with the computer generated animals and ocean scenes. (This may not be the movie for you if you are prone to sea sickness.) I don’t know why I…
Many people talk about faith in religious terms as in “What “faith” are you?” While that is an appropriate way of using the term there is a general definition of faith and we find it in the Bible in Hebrews 11:1 “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We all exhibit faith from the moment we…
The Babylonian Talmud is a remarkable document. Pieced together by its rabbinic editors in the 6th century, it comprises a running discussion placing rabbis who lived over a several hundred-year period into a series of long, raucous conversations with one another. It contains discussion about law, science, ethics, and of course theology. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Talmud is the breadth of…
On the Eve of the 238th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I find myself thinking how far we have come since 1776. Even more amazing than the United States’ 238 years is that Brandywine Baptist Church has been serving God and the Brandywine Valley for 322 years, since 1692. As a church, and as Americans, we all have seen a dramatic shift in our…
Writing a newspaper column is a different experience from delivering a sermon or teaching a class. Unfortunately, addressing the public in print denies me the opportunity to see your faces as we learn together. Of course, on the other hand, it spares me from watching your faces should my words serve instead as a soporific. Nevertheless, the goal is similar in both writing and speaking,…