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Making wheelchairs sexy

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After I broke my leg when I was seven, I remember how painful it was to hobble up and down the steps at church. Before my leg healed, I remember asking my peers to hold one of my crutches so I could get down to a class. It felt quite dramatic, and I can’t imagine the lengths people have to go through if they are in a wheelchair. This is the issue that the Associated Press tackles in a recent story on how disabled worshipers struggle to find their place in the pews. The story is a good idea; the execution of it? Not so much.


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Haiti: 'God is coming back' (updated)

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I do not know about you, but I have been overwhelmed by the coverage of the earthquake in Haiti. I feel like I have been stranding underneath a digital waterfall of pain, trying to make some sense out of all of the details, trying to see the larger picture.


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Parsing the Pope

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Whenever Pope Benedict XVI gives a homily or addresses a crowd, it’s always fascinating to see how the media write it up. This week, Benedict addressed the Vatican’s diplomatic corps that, by its nature, dealt a bit with broader political themes. How does a reporter sum up a 3,000-word address or figure out what aspect to focus on? To be sure, it’s a difficult task. The Boston Herald headlined its Associated Press story:


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The gospel of easy money

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In case your memory is as poor as mine, back in November Sarah Pulliam Bailey discussed an Atlantic profile of Dave Ramsey, a Christian financial advisor who abhors the modern-day trend of buying everything on credit. This was the companion piece to the cover story for the magazine’s December issue, and Sarah remarked that a colleague was going to tackle the bigger story. I was that colleague. Whoops.


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Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy ...

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The Orthodox church that I attend is part of the ancient Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, which means that its ancient liturgical language is Arabic, even though our pan-Orthodox congregation uses English about 99 percent of the time.


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Pat Robertson's Voodoo

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If disaster strikes, you can pretty much count on religious broadcaster Pat Robertson to say something about it that offends much of the population. It’s not just Robertson, of course. You might recall Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., saying Katrina was about God wanting to smite Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour or something. Anyway, with the horrific news out of Haiti, that the earthquake there led to unbelievable loss of life and property, Robertson came in on cue. And news organizations spread the word immediately. Here’s how CNN reported it:


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One is the loneliest number

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I was reading Pope Benedict XVI’s recent speech to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps when I came across this quote:


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