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April 2021

April 18, 2021

Surely, I have Set My Soul in Silence and in Peace

It has been thirteen months since our lives changed in ways that we will never...

January 2021

January 10, 2021

When Selective Amnesia is a Good Thing

Tolerance, acceptance, and embracing difference--even in the face of established tradition and clear procedures--has been...

January 01, 2021

It’s a New Year. Thank God.

There are few things that everyone can agree on these days, but here's one: 2020...

December 2020

December 19, 2020

We Are the Hands and Feet of God

I begin with a couple of stories. Story #1: There has been vigorous debate on...

December 05, 2020

Are You the One Who Is to Come?

The great but incredibly difficult German philosopher Immanuel Kant, in a rare moment of clarity,...

August 2020

August 27, 2020

Speaking the Truth in a Culture of Lies

Just short of a year ago, I spent a Saturday morning listening to a lecture...

August 25, 2020

O God, Come to My Assistance

Classes begin at my college next Monday, and the stress levels among the faculty (and...

August 02, 2020

How Would YOU Feed a Party of Five Thousand?

My youngest son was always the inquisitive sort, the kind of kid who, from the...

June 2020

June 02, 2020

God and Darwin have a conversation about diversity

A number of years ago, during a public forum on my campus focused on steps...

May 2020

May 10, 2020

Sometimes, Getting Stoned is a Bad Thing

The New Testament reading in today's lectionary line-up is the stoning of Stephen from the...

February 2020

February 29, 2020

Jesus I Know . . . But Who are You?

Today is the First Sunday of Lent; the gospel traditionally is a version of Jesus'...

December 2019

December 26, 2019

Dammit, It’s the Incarnation!

Last year around this time, I posted an essay that turned out to be more...

December 19, 2019

I Will Bring You Home

Baptist preacher’s kids get to do some very odd things. I memorized large portions of...

December 15, 2019

What May We Hope For?

Advent is the liturgical season that is most meaningful to me. I first encountered the...

October 2019

October 09, 2019

Stop Trying to Resurrect a Dead God

One of my greatest joys as a philosophy professor is that I get to be...

June 2019

June 02, 2019

Passing the Baton: An Ascension Sunday Reflection

A disturbingly common mishap in recent Summer Olympic games has been the failure of U.S....

May 2019

May 19, 2019

To the Graduates . . .

Today is my college's Commencement Day. I've been to more than thirty college graduation events,...

April 2019

April 12, 2019

Why Christianity is a Mundane Religion

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

January 2019

January 30, 2019

Sacred Spaces and Dunkin Donuts

I currently am working my way slowly through Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography of Leonardo da...

January 08, 2019

A New Year’s Resolution: Dream More, and Waste Less Time

At the beginning of a new year, I often find myself thinking not so much...

December 2018

December 30, 2018

It’s the Incarnation, Dammit!

On Christmas Eve morning, I noticed that a Facebook friend had posted a poll on...

December 21, 2018

Advent 101: Making Advent a Season of Recentering

We seek retreats for ourselves in country places, on beaches and mountains . . ....

December 20, 2018

An Advent Reboot

We seek retreats for ourselves in country places, on beaches and mountains . . ....

September 2018

September 09, 2018

Right-Brain Faith in a Left-Brain World

At age thirty-seven, Harvard trained brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor woke up one morning with...

August 2018

August 02, 2018

The Whatevers

Although I regularly find myself immersed in things medieval with a bunch of freshmen every...

July 2018

July 31, 2018

Magnetic Jesus

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

July 29, 2018

Like this God Stuff is Real

In her wonderful memoir Take This Bread, Sara Miles tells us of a conversation she...

July 28, 2018

I Forgot What You Said

This morning I am in the middle of a writer's conference hosted by an ecumenical...

June 2018

June 23, 2018

Is America a Christian Nation? Should It Be?

A question that is almost guaranteed to start an argument in some circles goes to...

April 2018

April 03, 2018

God and Darwin walk into a bar . . .

A Benedictine monk once told me that Darwin has taught us more about God than...

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