Any Questions?

The famous poet and playwright, Archibald MacLeish, once was invited to participate in a special worship service at Harvard University’s Memorial Church. He was to lead the students in “Morning Prayer.” MacLeish refused, on the ground that his religious skepticism made him unfit for the assignment. A few hours later, he changed his mind. He accepted the invitation. “I’ll do it,” he said, “but one thing must be clear. I’m not at all convinced that Christianity has all the answers we’re looking for — but I do think it has the right questions.”

We of the Faith are convinced, of course, that Christianity does indeed offer the ultimate solution to the riddle of life. But before we have a solution we must have a problem. We want answers because we have questions. In that sense, Archibald MacLeish’s observation is profoundly true: Christianity “has the right questions.”

Pulsating through our religious history are all the great questions. Our entire Religious Tradition evolves through a…