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October 2018

October 30, 2018

The Ghosts of Halloweens Past

Tomorrow is Halloween!–one of my least favorite holidays of the year. I know that offends...

October 14, 2018

What People of Faith and Atheists Can Agree On

About half way through the 1989 film “Field of Dreams,” Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin...

October 02, 2018

Doctor Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, and the Book of Proverbs

A couple of Sundays ago, it was my turn to be lector at the Episcopal...

September 2018

September 25, 2018

Obsessed with the Apocalypse

Last spring I taught a colloquium called "Apocalypse" with a colleague from the English department....

September 18, 2018

Is it THE truth, or is it MY truth?

Ian McEwan's The Children Act is the story of Fiona Maye, an experienced and highly respected family...

August 2018

August 23, 2018

Getting Over Original Sin

Last Tuesday, on the sixth anniversary of my blog, I posted my first blog post--an...

July 2018

July 31, 2018

Magnetic Jesus

In one of the many recent books written by an atheist about Christianity (I forget...

July 24, 2018

What I Learned About My Faith When I Visited Cuba

Fifteen years ago, I was part of a group of a dozen or so academics...

May 2018

May 27, 2018

Love and a Honda Accord Stationwagon

On a very sad morning almost ten years ago, my favorite vehicle ever was towed out...

May 15, 2018

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk to you again. “The Sound of Silence”...

May 13, 2018

Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed

I once learned something interesting about giraffes from one of my colleagues. He was lecturing...

May 08, 2018

The Lord Be With You . . .

What is the best way to get the attention of a bunch of Episcopalians? I...

May 03, 2018

One Nation, Under God?

I was invited earlier this week by an online publication that I write for occasionally...

April 2018

April 22, 2018

How Do I Get There?–A Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday

Tomorrow is "Good Shepherd Sunday," including the 23rd Psalm--a text so familiar that it is...

March 2018

March 27, 2018

A Holy Week Reflection: Why Doctrine and Faith Don’t Mix

Holy Week is upon us once again—as good a time as any to step back...

March 18, 2018

There Is A God, But I Do Not Believe In HIm

God would have us know that we must live as people who manage our lives...

March 15, 2018

The Christian Faith In a Nutshell

Sports fans old enough to remember the 70s and 80s will recall that a regular...

March 04, 2018

On Being Made of Meat

“What’s the difference between chili con carne and chili con queso?” I ask my freshman...

February 2018

February 25, 2018

Sharing My Faith

I grew up in the world of evangelical Christianity, and have spent much of my...

January 2018

January 09, 2018

Six Flags Over Jesus

My friend Michael lives with his family in Florida. That in itself makes me wonder...

December 2017

December 30, 2017

God Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It–Best of “Bearings Online” #4

I occasionally write articles for Bearings Online, the online publication of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical...

December 14, 2017

The Great Homesickness

I was the world’s most pathetic camper. One of the (alleged) rewards for 12-15 weeks of...

November 2017

November 26, 2017

God said it. I believe it. That settles it. (except that it doesn’t)

When trying to describe to predominantly Catholic students the religious world that I was born...

November 16, 2017

Spiritual Punctuation

In my life-long spiritual journey, the decade of my twenties was the charismatic decade. No,...

November 14, 2017

This Book May Change Your Life

A candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning . . . It seems...

October 2017

October 31, 2017

A Halloween Frame of Mind

It's Halloween!--one of my least favorite holidays of the year. I know that offends many...

October 12, 2017

God Doesn’t Need Our Protection

Human beings never behave so badly as when they believe they are protecting God. Barbara Brown...

September 2017

September 21, 2017

Flesh and Blood

What is bothering me incessantly is the question of what Christianity really is, or indeed...

September 03, 2017

Are You More Christian Than I Am?

If we remembered that water takes its color from the vessel containing it, we would...

August 2017

August 15, 2017

What People of Faith Share in Common with Atheists

The more I realize why my faith is important to me, the more I realize...

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