A few weeks ago I received an invitation from Beliefnet co-founder and editor-in-chief teve Waldman to make note of my “Best Spiritual Read of 2008.”  One book clearly came to mind. It’s a pretty simple, straightforward book, though I’ve tried to remember a better or more challenging, more sublime, or more esoteric book to put…

The New York Times has a story about Muslim punk rockers, the amazing life-imitates-art phenomenon of “The Taqwacores,” a novel by Michael Muhammad Knight.  They didn’t exist until Knight’s novel started circulating in the Muslim teen community. “This book helped me create my identity,” one Muslim teen told the Times. The punks object equally to how…

Several years ago, a pastor’s son planted a church in a tough-to-reach upper middle class suburb in Southern California. For years–even decades–he shunned the spotlight to focus on his ministry. His church grew. It spun off other churches. He coached and trained the leaders of churches across the country. Years later, one of his books–“The…

America Online recently reported its annual list of Top Ten Quotes of the Year, as named by Fred R. Shapiro. I found the list to be somewhat entertaining, partially nostalgic but, most of all, quite less than inspiring. Tops on the list: “I can see Russia from my house!” Such were the words of…guess who?…

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