Joseph Shabalala would grow world famous for his music. But it is shaped by the spiritual aspects of his life as much as it is by the hardships of black life - and by his dreams.
Dopamine fasting has fast become a fad in the Silicon Valley, as a way to reset the brain’s feel-good chemical. Many religions have advocated fasting for some of the same reasons.
With President Donald Trump’s frequent use of the term “witch hunt” he paints himself as a victim. The women persecuted in one of history’s darkest chapters should not be forgotten so easily.
Belief in the eternal virginity of Mary has inflicted damage to women, who can never attain her sexless motherhood or unsullied ‘purity’. Yet in the Gospels, Mary is strong-minded and courageous.
In the societies the Bible was written in, masculinity was the ideal. So it’s astonishing there are moments of gender subversion and gender diversity found in the Bible’s pages.
What people value in their God, they value in life. Today, this might mean men can conclude that if they are right, they, too, have the right to be dominating.
Among Tubman’s most daring feats was helping slaves escape. She believed she went into trances and had visions. These, to her, were God’s way of guiding her, which made her quite fearless.
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity