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Category: My Rocky spiritual journey

Which Way America? Compassion With Francis? Or Vitriol With Trump?

Cover of Pope Francis' book, "Open Mind, Faithful Heart." With a picture of the pope.

Pope Francis and Donald Trump couldn’t be more different — in the way they respect (Francis) and disrespect (Donald) their fellow human beings. Read more.

I Love Pope Francis — Or Do I?

A score of Catholic clergy were present at the annual conference of the Religion Newswriters Association in Philadelphia, August, 2015. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My honeymoon with Catholicism’s newest pope is over. I’m done with getting all goosebumpy over Pope Francis and the tone he’s setting for his church. Read more.

Tori Isner, Poet: ‘You Are a Vehicle for Spirit’

Tori Isner appreciates rocks. Here monzogranite rock formation at Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Barbara Newahll

Tori Isner is an adopted Lakota Sioux and — in my opinion — a poet. We’re honored, she says, “just to live, just to be.” Read more.

Author Don Lattin: Americans Are More Thoughtful About Religion Than We Think

As part of the THIRST temporary art installation, hundreds of prayer flags hang from the circular path from the pedestrian bridge down to Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Photo by BF Newhall

Religion writer Don Lattin says there’s more to religion in America than atheists vs. fundamentalists. The real story is less alarming and much more interesting. Read more.

Journalist Kay Campbell: ‘WWG Bows to the Enduring Mystery of the Universe’

Barbara Falconer Newhall's book Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith on sale at Book Passage bookstore, Corte Madera, California. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My Religion Newswriters Association colleague Kay Campbell says this about Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith. Read more.

Does Islam Scare You? If So, Here’s Why

Intricate blue, red and white tiles decorate the wall of a mosque in Istanbul. Does Islam scare you?  Photo by Barbara Newhall

It’s the puritanical Wahhabi Muslims and their global proselytizing efforts that are giving Islam a bad name. Here’s how. Read more.

Dying Jesus . . . Dying Churches?

The flogging of Jesus Christ, and crucifixion, a painting at the Melk Abbey, Austria. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I saw a lot of Jesus in the old European churches I visited last month. Sad to say, in church after church, Jesus was almost always dead or dying. Read more.

Was That Old Testament God Just Trying to Keep Us in the Game?

Monopoly game board.. As played by that Old testament God?

The fiery, judgmental God of the Old Testament and Hebrew Scripture had a redeeming quality that he shared with my persistent little son Peter. Read more.

At Orinda Books: The Author Talked — And So Did the Audience

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall and interviewee Sister Barbara Hazzard gave a book talk at Orinda Books in Orinda, California, May 16, 2015. Photo by Jon Newhall

It was an afternoon of lively interaction between author, audience, and Sister Barbara Hazzard, who read from the story she tells in “Wrestling with God.” Read more.

Coleman Barks and Rumi — What a Few Lines of Poetry (and a Witch) Taught me

A trail alongside Bon Tempe Lake in Marin county, California. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I’d always imagined Coleman Barks to be a stern scholarly type — till I emailed him for permission to use a few lines from his Rumi translations in my book. Read more.

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