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February 2014

February 05, 2014

Six Neo-Christian Myths: Exiting the Arc of Christian History

Today I ran across a post by Donald Miller of Blue Like Jazz fame and...

September 2013

September 24, 2013

Cancer and Divine Immanence

Last week I read Michael Hannon’s reflection on “Cancer and Divine Transcendence” and simply could...

July 2013

July 01, 2013

Mean St. Francis

I’ve never seen a St. Francis statue like the one that sits in our back...

June 2013

June 24, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: Praying Like Elijah

“What a long way it is between knowing God and loving him!” (f. 377) Ultimately,...

June 10, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: Diminishing Your Passions or Increasing Your Hunger

In our last Neo-Pascalian conversation, I indicated that fragment 418 held yet another clue to...

April 2013

April 24, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: The Second Step Toward a Make-Believe Faith

I want to begin this part of the conversation acknowledging a comment to my last...

April 09, 2013

Making Room for the In-Laws

Marriage is the ultimate melting pot. Unless you’re one of those whose families knew each...

March 2013

March 12, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: The Third Order

In our last Pascalian conversation, I left you with fire. And if you’ve had an...

February 2013

February 27, 2013

(One of) My History Hang-ups

Any Star Trek fans out there? The Original Series? Do you remember the episode called...

February 25, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: Fire

When Pascal died, those who prepared his body for burial found sewn into the lining...

February 18, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: An Indiana Jones Kind of Faith?

Earlier we took a quick look at a scientific experiment conducted by Pascal in 1646,...

February 12, 2013

Pascal, Ash Wednesday, and the Hidden God

In the Anglican Ash Wednesday ritual, we pray for the grace of true repentance. Repentance...

February 05, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: Poised Between Two Worlds

Last week we explored the Jansenist effort to reconstruct Christian community as the fellowship of...

January 2013

January 29, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: The Augustinian Problem

In pursuing Pascal, it is not long before we come face-to-face with a conundrum. It’s...

January 21, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: The Back Story

Okay, this week we’re diving into French history, which might not be your cup of...

January 15, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: A Personality Quirk?

As we pointed out last week, Pascal’s actual scientific and mathematical work has been far...

January 08, 2013

Becoming Neo-Pascalian: An Introduction, from Cones to Gambling

Pascal, this unusual 17th-century giant, seems to be poised to speak again from a distance...

January 05, 2013

Becoming a Neo-Pascalian

Yesterday I wound up the last obligations of my fall courses. This included grading a...

November 2012

November 28, 2012

According to a Certain Studious Old Man, Objects in Mirror Are Closer than They Appear

I read the Psalms, and I imagine you do too. Many read the Psalms when...

October 2012

October 24, 2012

What Difference Does It Make?: The Kaleidoscope Effect

For the better part of a year, I’ve been working on understanding a book and...

October 18, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 27: The End?

We’ve come to Anatolios’ conclusion, a chapter rich with ideas and summaries. I could...

October 10, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 26: True Love

Last week we addressed Augustine’s “psychological model” of the Trinitarian...

October 01, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 25: Source Code

Our friend Augustine, trying to understand the Three-in-One God whom we worship, resorted to Source...

September 2012

September 24, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 24: A Julian Diversion

Augustine is going to take us on a deep, inner journey to the center...

September 17, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 23: A Christ Sighting

“We want to see Jesus,” they said (Jn. 12.21). This request, from a group of...

September 03, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 21: The Trinity Is the Gospel

This picture is a famous depiction of Christ as Pantocrator, i.e., Christ in Majesty, Ruler...

August 2012

August 27, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 20: Gregory’s Key to Bible Study

As we pick up our conversation about Gregory of Nyssa, I want to recall what...

August 23, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 19: An Ephesian Interlude

My apologies for missing a few posts while I sailed the deep blue...

July 2012

July 31, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 18: Believing in the Right Direction

If Athanasius was too big for words—too grand, too dominating, too heroic—Gregory of Nyssa...

July 24, 2012

Trinitarian Spirituality, 17: Luminosity

Thus far, our conversation about the Three-in-One God we worship has been pretty much...