Blogcombing: "What Have the Faithful Done?"

At her excellent (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) blog, Writing in Faith: Thoughts, Sandy Carlson has posted a beautiful, thought-provoking and very balanced note on how churches as institutions have shown that they can indeed be agents of God's grace (a point on which I've sometimes felt doubt).

I believe that institutional churches of every hue and variety can be agents of God's grace--but only if we first accept that they are very human, very flawed attempts at reaching toward a divine mystery so much greater than ourselves. Teachers come in every shape and size. Sometimes they come in hellish nightmares. So be it. The gift of these lessons is no less a blessing.  (Sandy Carlson)

She then lists 13 "acts of faith--some beautiful, some hellish--as presented by Religion and Ethics."  Read more...