A Madonna For the New Year
by Elizabeth Adams

Apocalyptic theology has been with us for a long, long time, and there is a theory that says the purpose of apocalyptic thinking is to show us the abyss, the absolute edge of oblivion, so that we can finally, in the last moment, back away and act to save ourselves... If the 20th century brought the world to a new vision of what that edge might look like, the 21st has dawned on scores of humans willingly going there. For many, this journey is apparently the definition of courage, or manhood, or religious faithfulness. Which makes me wonder - who among us has the courage, the manhood, or the faith to choose exactly the opposite - to walk away, and keep walking until our hearts stop pounding and our anger recedes into the weariness from which real strength and real wisdom can finally emerge? ...The answer may be found not among men, but among women...[READ MORE]