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Rachel Marie Stone

Rachel Marie Stone is the author of "Eat With Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food" and a book about Jesus for children called "The Unexpected Way."

All Stories by Rachel Marie Stone

The lists of things you should never say
By Rachel Marie Stone — August 8, 2014
Is it really admirable or edifying, though, to insist on lists of rules of what one must "never" say? Do these lists get at the heart of the matter -- that all of us, in our words, should strive to "speak unto others as we'd like them to speak to us?" Do these lists leave room for grace?

Inclusive language for God does not equal heresy
By Rachel Marie Stone — August 5, 2014
God gets to define who God is, and no one else does. If God is pleased to express God's nature in female metaphors, as a birthing, nursing, comforting mother, who are we humans to object?

Science, religion, humanism, STEM — and a child’s imagination
By Rachel Marie Stone — August 4, 2014
Science and the humanities -- including religion -- should not be pitted against each other in our kids' education.

Are you too proud of your ‘natural’ lifestyle?
By Rachel Marie Stone — August 1, 2014
I don't have much patience with the "more organic than thou" attitude. It smacks of privilege and judgmentalism.

Will the next ‘religious’ battle be fought over Vitamin K?
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 30, 2014
Yet another reason to push back — hard — against anti-vaccine scaremongering: at least seven babies have been admitted to Vanderbilt University’s Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital with cases of VKDB — Vitamin K Deficiency bleeding, which can cause brain damage, intestinal hemorrhaging, and death. It’s a relatively rare disorder. It’s also 100% preventable when […]

In the battle against Ebola, a struggle for hearts and minds
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 28, 2014
Battling Ebola is about more than just beating back a deadly virus that attacks the body. It's about persuading people that traditional religion and contemporary medicine aren't at odds.

Puppies, like kids, make love and duty a package deal
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 26, 2014
I didn't overflow with love for our new puppy at first. I just wanted to keep her alive. And that was enough.

Religious exemptions to vaccines shouldn’t exist
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 17, 2014
One prominent pediatrician has said withholding vaccines is tantamount to child abuse, and that there shouldn't be a religious exemption. He's right.

Afraid to look death in the face? That’s a spiritual problem.
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 14, 2014
What is lost when we turn funerals into parties that actively deny the finality of death? In seeking to alleviate pain by posing dead people in 'lifelike' poses, do we not save up a different kind of pain for later?

Does accommodating immorality make you angry? What if God does it?
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 9, 2014
I do believe that how we seek to do justice matters as much as the justice we seek, but believe it is messy world, and the Perfect is too often held up as the enemy of the Good Enough or even the Less Bad.

When religious (and political) identity trumps inquiry — and facts
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 7, 2014
What would happen if we could unhitch ourselves from such identity games and celebrate the freedom of thought that is supposed to be a cornerstone of American identity? What if facts were not perceived as grave threats but as invitations to ongoing inquiry?

When talking to kids about God, acknowledge that it can be scary
By Rachel Marie Stone — July 3, 2014
Noah’s ark is a favorite theme for nursery décor, and makes for fun coloring pages full of animals going two by two, but it’s a story of God nearly wiping humankind off the face of the earth.

Really: no one cares what you did or did not have for lunch
By Rachel Marie Stone — June 28, 2014
Eat as you please. But please, don't tell us all about it.

Sandy Hook dad on what you can do right now to help prevent violence
By Rachel Marie Stone — June 26, 2014
Speaking briefly about his son, Mark Barden also, in a moving demonstration of grace, expressed compassion for Adam Lanza and told the audience the simple thing he hoped we'd do.

Five reasons to love Sojourners’ ‘Summit for Change’
By Rachel Marie Stone — June 24, 2014
Sojourners held their inaugural Summit for World Change through Faith and Justice. Here's what set it apart from other conferences.
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Popular Stories by Rachel Marie Stone

Arts & Culture
How helpful — and how Christian — is Dave Ramsey’s financial advice?
Arts & Culture
Will the next ‘religious’ battle be fought over Vitamin K?
Arts & Culture
Why the suffering of animals sometimes hurts most
Arts & Culture
You may be a fundamentalist if…(or, what’s going on at Cedarville University?)
Arts & Culture
The earthy spirituality of ‘Call the Midwife’

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