Kevin Considine
Kevin Considine is a theology graduate student living in Chicago, IL. He has an M.A. in Theology from Catholic Theological Union, is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Constructive Theology and hopes to work as a teacher/scholar at the university level. He writes about the intersection of faith, politics and culture with a particular concern for the problem of human suffering. In doing so, he wants to remind people that God gave them a brain for a reason and that faith and thinking go hand in hand. He is a cradle Catholic in an ecumenical marriage to a wonderful woman who keeps him in line. He welcomes comments, critiques and/or fits of anger and can be reached at considkp@yahoo.com
Kevin Considine is a theology graduate student living in Chicago, IL. He has an M.A. in Theology from Catholic Theological Union, is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Constructive Theology and hopes to work as a teacher/scholar at the university level. He writes about the intersection of faith, politics and culture with a particular concern for the problem of human suffering. In doing so, he wants to remind people that God gave them a brain for a reason and that faith and thinking go hand in hand. He is a cradle Catholic in an ecumenical marriage to a wonderful woman who keeps him in line. He welcomes comments, critiques and/or fits of anger and can be reached at considkp@yahoo.com
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Without God there is no justice
Column: God said what?
May 7 2008 10:25AM
Without God there is no justice. That’s short and to the point. And that has become my firm belief during my three years in seminary. But let me explain what I mean and what I do not mean by that statement.
Obama shouldn't leave his Church
Column: God said what?
May 1 2008 12:19PM
I’m glad Obama hasn’t left his church. But I wish more people would give him and Trinity the benefit of the doubt. No matter what they think of his political views. Because no Christian should be asked to abandon a good church.
The Pope's Symbolic Power
Column: God Said What?
Apr 21 2008 05:08PM
Pope Benedict XVI's meeting with victims of pedophile priests was a symbol. It was meant to bring the suffering of the victims into the heart of the Body of Christ. It made the victims known to the head of the Church. And perhaps it will bring the U.S. bi
Our Enigmatic Pope
Column: God Said What?
Apr 16 2008 04:27PM
I am no expert on popes. And I often disagree with Pope Benedict XVI. But as I welcome him to the U.S. I see him as a pastor, a spiritual leader and as a real human being. And I think that all of us U.S. Catholics could benefit from doing likewise.
The hope of the Resurrection
Column: God Said What?
Mar 31 2008 02:41AM
At its deepest level Christianity is a religion of hope. It is based upon a real in-breaking of God's love, hope and salvation for humankind into a world that has little care for God's grace.
Again, leave Obama's church alone
Column: God Said What?
Mar 20 2008 01:52AM
What do you know about the tradition and culture of the African-American Church? Have you ever actually visited Trinity United Church of Christ?
The power of laypeople
Column: God Said What?
Mar 17 2008 02:28AM
Even though the Korean government severely persecuted them - to the extent that they claim 10,000 martyrs in 100 years - the Korean Church endured and even flourished.
God, poverty and wealth
Column: God Said What?
Mar 3 2008 01:59AM
Jesus should offend you. That is, if you actually read the gospels. And one thing that should offend us, or trouble us, is Jesus' attitude toward money and wealth.
NIU shootings were not God's will
Column: God Said What?
Feb 18 2008 01:43AM
This has nothing to do with God's plan. The man who took their lives and wounded many more was exercising free will in defiance of God's plan. It was his sick plan that took them away from us, not God's.
Suffering unto God
Column: God Said What?
Feb 4 2008 12:33AM
In the West the question seems to be 'Is there a God?' and the answer entails a search for meaning. But in the developing world, the question looks more like 'Of course, there's a God - but why is there so much suffering?'
Spirituality and elections
Column: God Said What?
Jan 7 2008 02:30AM
I'm sure life might be simpler if we had a clear separation between faith and politics. But we can't divorce the two because we can't be human and not be spiritual.
Our distorted view of Mother Teresa
Column: God Said What?
Dec 31 2007 02:04AM
Mother Teresa was an admirable disciple of Jesus whom we should look to emulate. And hopefully the Church will venerate her as a saint one day. But she was still human.
Jesus and Harry Potter
Column: God Said What?
Dec 24 2007 02:18AM
Young people resonate with Harry Potter in a way they may not yet be ready to with the adult Jesus. Yet, the canvas of Harry's world may help some of our youth to understand what it means to live faithfully.
The soul of Catholic Social Teaching
Column: God Said What?
Dec 17 2007 02:14AM
James Brown has me thinking. Believe it or not, he has me thinking about Catholic Social Teaching. In particular, he has me thinking about what's been called the preferential option for the poor.
The Grinch and consumerism
Column: God Said What?
Dec 10 2007 02:26AM
I'm not trying to kill the party here. Christmas is indeed a festive time. It's just that there's a problem when our perception of what is necessary, what is comfortable and what is luxurious is skewed.
Who's afraid of the Trinity?
Column: God Said What?
Dec 3 2007 12:28AM
The heart of the doctrine of the Trinity isn't the question 'how can God be both one and three?' Instead, the teaching on the Trinity helps us to understand who God is and who God is not.
Black Catholics and American history
Column: God Said What?
Nov 26 2007 02:00AM
For many years black Catholics were disdained by the Catholic Church. Two individuals who lived their lives in prophetic critique of this sin were Father Augustus Tolton and St. Katherine Drexel.
Is the church doing its job?
Column: God Said What?
Nov 19 2007 12:35AM
In our churches, ecumenically speaking, we need to find God the Healer, God the Liberator and God the Compassionate Friend. These are the images we find in Jesus of Nazareth. And these are the experiences of God that are truly powerful.
God suffers with us
Column: God Said What?
Nov 12 2007 12:27AM
There's no good answer to the question of unwarranted suffering and death. But there is another way of looking at it. And that different perspective is that God is suffering with us. That is, God suffers in solidarity with humankind.
The problem of God-talk
Column: God Said What?
Oct 19 2007 01:51AM
Everything that we say about God is in some way inadequate because we can't fully comprehend God. There is a qualitative difference between us and the divine that should not be underestimated.
Faith, life and time
Column: God Said What?
Oct 12 2007 12:31AM
It's funny that at the end of every hard-earned day we still find a reason to believe. After all, why should we believe, when so much around us points to God's absence? Besides, who even has time to find a reason to believe?
Of Catholics and saints
Column: God Said What?
Oct 5 2007 02:10AM
Since their witness is often from the margins of their own society, saints remind us that the God of Jesus Christ tends to work where the rest of us don't like to look.
A prayer for Myanmar
Column: God Said What?
Sep 28 2007 01:46AM
Let the dictators remember that they are not gods, but men who have set themselves up to be powerful. And let them see that their rule, which is set against the rule of the Living God, is already crumbling.
Why feminist theology?
Column: God Said What?
Sep 21 2007 02:46AM
Feminist theology isn't about hating men. And it's not about hating the Church. It's about recovering long suppressed voices and re-integrating them as equally authoritative into our attempts to talk about God.
Ignoring bin Laden
Column: God Said What?
Sep 14 2007 01:27AM
Let's make a collective agreement to cut bin Laden off. He is a media-holic who relies on us to disperse his message to the mainstream. We don't have to give him access to the billboard of the world - the nightly news.
Our distorted view of Mother Teresa
Column: God Said What?
Sep 7 2007 12:42AM
Mother Teresa was an admirable disciple of Jesus whom we should look to emulate. And hopefully the Church will venerate her as a saint one day. But she was still human.
The sin of racism
Column: God Said What?
Aug 31 2007 12:42AM
God will liberate, heal and reconcile. But God is expecting us to work, too. And that starts by naming and owning the sin of racism in our midst.
Should the church offer sanctuary?
Column: God Said What?
Aug 24 2007 12:28AM
It makes me nervous that 80 percent of us seem happy to toss sanctuary out the window. And to those of us who are just itching to do the tossing, let me say this: Be careful what you wish for.
A tale of two immigrants
Column: God Said What?
Aug 17 2007 12:42AM
Just because one illegal immigrant is the prime suspect in a heinous crime does not mean that most others are hardened criminals.
A risk of faith
Column: God Said What?
Aug 10 2007 01:55AM
Adalberto United Methodist Church has taken its stand. This is the path that the Rev. Walter Coleman and his congregation have discerned for living their discipleship to Christ: protecting a valued member of their community.
Jesus and Harry Potter
Column: God Said What?
Aug 3 2007 02:46AM
Young people resonate with Harry Potter in a way they may not yet be ready to with the adult Jesus. Yet, the canvas of Harry's world may help some of our youth to understand what it means to live faithfully.
Summer reading with St. Paul
Column: God Said What?
Jul 27 2007 12:58AM
Paul isn't always easy to understand. Still, he's a pivotal figure in Christianity and one with whom all Christians should get acquainted.
For abuse victims, money isn't enough
Column: God Said What?
Jul 20 2007 01:51AM
Church leaders should stop focusing upon protecting the Church and instead focus upon protecting God's children. And it should also focus on the victims' healing processes.
Body image and American idolatry
Column: God Said What?
Jul 13 2007 01:48AM
The idolization of health and body image is in our media and entertainment. It's a factor in our relationships and friendships. And its human cost is unacceptable.
What disaster struck Cleveland?
Column: God Said What?
Jul 6 2007 02:29AM
Northeast Ohio is hurting. De-industrialization has taken its toll and the young people are leaving in droves. But God is still there. Somewhere.
Love is more than generosity
Column: God Said What?
Jun 29 2007 01:34AM
Americans gave $295 billion to charity last year. That's an impressive number. But we must remember that mere generosity does not equal love of neighbor.
Christianity and driving
Column: God Said What?
Jun 22 2007 12:36AM
Once we Christians get out of the church doors and get on the roads, we abandon Jesus. We forget that we're the church and that the building is just where we gather. We leave our Christianity at the altar.
Catholics and the church-world problem
Column: God Said What?
Jun 15 2007 02:03AM
The Catholic Church tries to reside in the world but with the intentions of dialogue with and transformation of it.
Progress, but at a price
Column: God Said What?
Jun 8 2007 12:26AM
The impoverished aren't just nameless abstracts but living, breathing human beings. They are made in the image of God just like the rest of us. It's just that we've decided that they are expendable in the face of progress.
From humiliation to reconciliation
Column: God Said What?
Jun 1 2007 01:52AM
Cardinal Bernardin was devastated and deeply wounded by allegations of sexual abuse. After the charges were proven false, he gave us a sterling example of reconciliation and forgiveness.
God's challenging revelation in history
Column: God Said What?
May 18 2007 02:12AM
Our Lady of Guadalupe reminds us that God will not be limited.
Rethinking capital punishment
Column: God Said What?
May 11 2007 01:13AM
It's unconscionable that innocent people have been put on death row for crimes they didn't commit. And it has prompted me to rethink capital punishment in the United States.
Why Catholics support immigrant rights
Column: God Said What?
May 4 2007 01:56AM
If we used the eyes of Jesus, we might think twice before breaking up families through deportations and about blaming immigrants for many of the ills of our society.
A blessing to each other
Column: God Said What?
Apr 27 2007 02:21AM
Cardinal Bernardin introduced himself to the Jewish leaders of Chicago by saying, 'I come to you as your brother Joseph.' More importantly, he meant it. And he backed it up with action.
Cho is not a martyr
Column: God Said What?
Apr 20 2007 02:29AM
Disgruntled young men, listen up. Cho Seung-hui is not a martyr. Martyrs don't force other people to suffer violence and its effects. And they don't commit suicide either.
A plea for church unity
Column: God Said What?
Apr 13 2007 02:12AM
In the twilight of his life Joseph Cardinal Bernardin made it one of his primary concerns to try to bring together both sides of the polarized Catholic Church.
Reflections on Good Friday
Column: God Said What?
Apr 6 2007 02:19AM
To the first disciples the crucifixion was crushing. Some had hoped that Jesus as the Messiah would triumph over the worldly power structures and set up God's nation here on earth. Instead, he was executed.
Mugabe must go
Column: God Said What?
Mar 30 2007 12:30AM
When no other church leader would speak out against the tyranny of the Zimbabwean regime, Archbishop Pius Ncube continued to do so, often at great risk to his personal safety. He has made himself a thorn in President Robert Mugabe's side.
Reflections on the Mystery of God
Column: God Said What?
Mar 23 2007 02:08AM
Revelation always begins with an experience of God's closeness. And those experiences transform us.
A consistent ethic of life
Column: God Said What?
Mar 9 2007 12:59AM
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin promoted an ethic of life that 'identifies both the problem of taking life and the challenge of promoting human dignity as moral questions.'
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