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Development of Western Civilization

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March 2026

March 17, 2026

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day. Big Deal

I spent last week on a wonderful trip to Sweden with my son. Today is...

August 2025

August 20, 2025

The Art of Persuasion

I was asked a few days ago to participate in an ongoing project on campus...

August 10, 2025

That Sounds Like Prayer

We are all going to die! That's just so awful. I didn't agree to this....

July 2025

July 31, 2025

Do My Masculine and Feminine Side Like Each Other?

The Fall 2025 semester begins five weeks from last Tuesday. I guarantee that if you...

May 2025

May 20, 2025

Faculty Workshops and the Muppets

That's a wrap for another academic year, number 34 since I walked across a stage...

January 2025

January 12, 2025

Remembering an Excellent Colleague and Friend

I have been in a somber mood for the last few days, ever since the...

November 2023

November 26, 2023

The Difference Between Goats and GOATs

The last Sunday before Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical calendar year is...

September 2023

September 03, 2023

The Moral Life in One Sentence

A couple of years ago, I was interviewed in my office by a reporter from The...

August 2023

August 08, 2023

Dreamers Who Get Things Done

Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. This, promises...

August 03, 2023

Did He Walk On the Water or Didn’t He?

The summer Sunday gospel readings annually are full of Jesus' greatest hits, including feeding the...

June 2023

June 29, 2023

The Burden of Light

Teaching for thirty years in an interdisciplinary program with colleagues from a multitude of disciplines...

June 02, 2023

Reading the Bible as Literarily (not literally) True

Last week I participated in a two-day end-of-the-academic-year workshop with a dozen fellow faculty in...

August 2022

August 09, 2022

Remembering David McCullough and Why the Liberal Arts Matter More than Ever

I was saddened to hear that David McCullough, one of the great historians of his...

June 2022

June 23, 2022

Problems with the Soul

Last week I posted an essay called “Left-Brain Christianity or Right-Brain Faith?” which discussed the...

August 2021

August 03, 2021

The Divine Plan for Delegating Authority: Just About Anything Goes

I recently had the opportunity to have a face-to-face conversation with the new Provost at...

July 2021

July 24, 2021

When Jesus Takes a Walk

The summer Sunday gospel readings annually are full of Jesus' greatest hits--this year is no...

June 2021

June 30, 2021

A Modest Proposal, Part Two: Why My Time Should Not Be For Sale

A week ago, I described a proposal concerning access to my services that I proposed...

May 2021

May 23, 2021

From Babel to Pentecost–We’ve Come Full Circle

Jeanne and I once watched a documentary called “Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action,” created,...

April 2021

April 29, 2021

Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought to Say

Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. Shakespeare, King Lear Last week,...

April 07, 2021

A Doubting Disciple and a Bunch of Communists

In my “Markets and Morals” colloquium in the good old pre-pandemic days a couple of...

January 2021

January 24, 2021

Dealing With Our Inner Nazi

We ought not to hide from ourselves that Nazi Germany is a mirror for all...

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...

November 2020

November 17, 2020

The Ancient Stoics in Zoom Land

I was asked a few days ago by someone in our Marketing and Communications area...

October 2020

October 12, 2020

All Things are Become New: A reminder of why teaching is the best profession of all

I realized this morning that exactly seven years ago, the beautiful humanities building on our...

August 2020

August 08, 2020

Jesus Goes for a Walk–on a lake

The Sunday gospel readings this summer have recently provided us with some of Jesus’ greatest...

July 2020

July 05, 2020

Is Your Burden Light?

Teaching for twenty-five years in an interdisciplinary program with colleagues from a multitude of disciplines...

August 2019

August 29, 2019

The Life of a College Professor: Nice Work if You Can Get It

It's the first week of the new academic year, which is always a good time...

August 20, 2019

Will All Things Be Well?

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall...

July 2019

July 21, 2019

What Dr. Seuss Has to Say About Heresy

Three days after the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT in...

June 2019

June 08, 2019

The Message of Pentecost: God Is Not Angry At Us

Jeanne and I watched a documentary not long ago called “Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets...

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