family

"'He says you must pray,' the young monk said. 'Pray for what?' I asked..." (photo by jduemer/flickr)

The Temple Door

By Danielle Trussoni | November 11, 2006

The daughter of a damaged Vietnam veteran returns to the scene of the crime.

"I wanted to read the story about throwing the bride and groom to the dogs," she said. (My Antonia, bookplate detail)

You Must Draw a Long Bead to Shoot a Fish

By Jeff Sharlet | June 16, 2006

A story of reading, dying, and being two things at once, from the new book Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes.

"The songs seem to come from somewhere ancient and strange."

Four Tables

By Margaret Schwartz | April 10, 2006

A Passover story of family and wine from Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes.

"I don't know tongues, but I know how Holy Ghost people talk to the Lord."

My Holy Ghost People

By Ashley Makar | March 21, 2006

When a family speaks in tongues, can an unbelieving daughter find her voice?

"Burma is a dangerous place! I know, I saw Beyond Rangoon!"

Motherly Love

By Diana Winston | December 14, 2005

Thus spoke Buddha’s mother: Fine, fine, be enlightened. But would it kill you to call now and then?

"Are we Jewish?" I asked my father. "Only when they come around for the camps next time," he said.

The Conditional Jew

By Lisa Selin-Davis | November 13, 2005

A child of hippies wonders when she is what she is, and why.

"Faith is not a style."

A Slut for Faith

By Laurel Snyder | August 1, 2005

Leaving God at the altar, and other tips for marital bliss.

"If Buddha had played a trick like that on me, I would've torn his goddamn head off."

White Ashes

By Jeff Wilson | May 25, 2005

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but the loss of a loved one will haunt you forever.

"The hose stretched just long enough to insert one end over the tailpipe and the other end into the driver’s window."

The Only Truth That Mattered

By Rebecca Donner | July 19, 2004

How I lost my father to Buddhism.

Art by Michael Allen Potter

God is Electric, Jesus Electrochemical

By Michael Allen Potter | June 7, 2004

The author goes in search of God and his birth mother. Only one gets found.

"Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab," William Blake, 1795 (Detail)

The Book of Ruth

By lê thi diem thúy | March 3, 2004

An excerpt from Killing the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible‘s “Book of Ruth.”

"What is it to be in the jaws of a lion, how must it feel to be eaten?"

Xmas in the Lions’ Den

By Eileen Myles | December 19, 2003

Or, “What’s Up, Daniel”; a tale of bibical danger retold for this most dangerous of seasons.

"I began to pray for forgiveness, thinking the cherries might line up, the machine spilling shiny tokens of good fate."

Slot-Machine God

By Donald Miller | July 9, 2003

When beliefs can change as easily as the weather, so do your chances of hitting the jackpot — or experiencing revelation.

Mitre Peak, New Zealand

Coming Home, O Lord, I’m Coming Home

By Cheryl Pearl Sucher | April 4, 2003

An expat returns to America just in time for holy war.

"My one-girl betrayal of the Catholic community was something I kept to myself."

Oh Come On, All Ye Faithful

By Maura Kelly | December 24, 2002

A Christmas story about lost faith and the routine of prayer.

torah

Torah Studies

By Susan Messer | September 27, 2002

In the midst of celebration, a mother reconsiders a tale of failed reconciliation.

Ignoble

Ignoble Truths

By Kate Brandt | September 13, 2002

Life’s a bitch and then you die. Sex, suffering, and the Buddha’s First Noble Truth.

Gibson's Reverend Hess: "I will not waste one more minute of my life on prayer!"

Signs of the Father

By Paul W. Morris | August 15, 2002

Has God been reduced to cinematic sleights-of-hand?