Saturday, April 26, 2008

Below is an excerpt from "On Faith," an Internet feature sponsored by The Washington Post and Newsweek. Each week, more than 50 figures from the world of faith engage in a conversation about an aspect of religion. This week, panel members were asked: "In his speech to U.S. bishops last week, Pope Benedict XVI said: 'Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. . . . To the extent that religion becomes a purely private affair, it loses its very soul.' Do you agree or disagree? Why?"

Pope Benedict couldn't have said it any better. To treat religion as a purely private matter is self-refuting. Christianity as a religion seeks to explain all of life. The term logos, used to describe Jesus, in the original Greek understanding meant all truth that could ever be known.

-- Charles W. "Chuck" Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship

To read the complete essay and see more "On Faith" commentary, hosted by Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn, go tohttp://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/.