Rev. William Sloane Coffin Dies

Popular progressive minister, activist, and Yale University chaplain William Sloane Coffin died yesterday of congestive heart failure at his home in Vermont. He was 81.

From the Washington Post:

From the moment in 1958 when Mr. Coffin roared onto Yale's campus atop his motorcycle, he signaled that his presence would mean a distinctly radical approach to the social, political and moral upheaval that defined the next decade.

Mr. Coffin called himself a "Christian revolutionary" and believed that his outspoken activism sprang from the principles of his faith.

His 18-year tenure at Yale encompassed the civil rights struggle and the Vietnam War, each of which he confronted in bold and daring fashion.

Two days ago, I started reading Coffin's latest book, Letters to a Young Doubter. I should finish "Letters" later today. (It's a quick read.) I'll refrain from reviewing it, but I have dog-eared the pages that I've found especially inspiring and that might be the basis of future posts.

(Hat tip: Chuck Currie.)