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July 2020

July 15, 2020

Remembering a Good Friend

A very good friend of mine, a man whom I only knew for the final...

June 2020

June 16, 2020

Confronting the Sin of Certainty

If you think you understand it, it is not God.  Soren Kierkegaard In Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer...

June 10, 2020

Interfaith Travel, and a Reminder that No One Owns God

There are several contemporary writers on spiritual issues and matters of faith whose work I...

April 2020

April 02, 2020

“I Don’t Know”: The most profoundly religious statement of all

Let me tell you here first, “trust in God” has never floated my boat as...

March 2020

March 24, 2020

Visions of (the) Rapture Now Burst On My Sight

Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels, descending, bring...

February 2020

February 15, 2020

The Prophet Isaiah Goes to the National Prayer Breakfast

I was the scheduled lector at the 8:00 service last Sunday, the first time I...

January 2020

January 23, 2020

Best of 2019 #2: Noah and his Children–Bad News for White Evangelical Christians

Last November, I used a Michael Gerson essay as a jumping off point for a...

December 2019

December 18, 2019

Some Thoughts about Impeachment Day–from 400+ years ago

Next semester I will be teaching an honors colloquium on Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), one...

November 2019

November 14, 2019

Political Jesus: No, it’s not an oxymoron

In a well-known and often-quoted passage from the Jewish scriptures, the prophet Micah asks a...

October 2019

October 15, 2019

A Story from Syria: Listen to People Other than Yourself

As the expected chaos and violence in Turkey and Syria continue to develop in the...

September 2019

September 08, 2019

Reason Touched By Grace: Getting Faith and Intellect on the Same Page

A few days ago, Pete Buttigeig, mayor of South Bend and candidate for the Democratic...

September 01, 2019

Jesus and the Compassionate Capitalist: A Reflection for Labor Day

There are a couple of sayings attributed to Jesus that Christians often use when attempting...

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...

July 13, 2019

You mean THOSE people are my neighbors???

Not long ago, Jeanne and I saw “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, the documentary about...

June 2019

June 11, 2019

Your tree and your dog will get more “likes” than you do, and other things I have learned in seven years of blogging

This August will mark my seventh year of blogging, the last two and a half...

May 2019

May 30, 2019

Happiness is Overrated, but Learning to Live Well is Not

It is the happy life that asks more of us than we realize we have...

January 2019

January 29, 2019

“You are the Man”: Speaking Truth to Power

Not long ago, my wife Jeanne decided to audit a graduate theology course on campus...

January 10, 2019

Just Your Typical Family, or Jesus Gets Grounded

Each week for many years, Garrison Keillor told “Prairie Home Companion” listeners the news from...

December 2018

December 24, 2018

Christus Natus Est

Christmas movies are a big deal at my house. Jeanne goes for the classics, such...

December 16, 2018

Joseph: An Awesome Stepfather with a Questionable Pedigree

In my religious tradition, we didn’t do saints. But we did do Christmas pageants—big time....

December 13, 2018

Did Jesus Ever Say “I’m Sorry”?

A popular Christian writer got herself in trouble not long ago by suggesting on Twitter...

October 2018

October 21, 2018

The Chapel and the Man Cave: Bridging the Gap Between Faith and Intellect

About a month ago I received an email from my friend Marsue, brief and to...

October 18, 2018

Does a Christian Have to be Certain About Anything?

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

September 2018

September 23, 2018

When an Atheist Finds Out That There is More Than One Kind of Christian

One of the many things that make teaching a rewarding vocation is receiving unsolicited testimonials...

September 02, 2018

Remembering John McCain: How to Move Past a Season of Cowardice

While the President of the United States tweeted his usual string of petty Saturday morning...

August 2018

August 26, 2018

Taking Our Country Back

One of my favorite staff writers for The New Yorker is Rebecca Mead; she’s been...

August 21, 2018

Hail Frieda, Full of Grace

Six years ago today, after a great deal of resistance, I finally followed the advice...

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...

April 17, 2018

The Best Story Ever

In the aftermath of Easter, Christians often enjoy retelling various stories about Jesus from the...

March 2018

March 29, 2018

Watching for an Hour

"Could you not stay awake with me one hour?" Jesus asked his disciples. It's a...

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