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March 2021

March 06, 2021

Today’s my Birthday–and it’s a big one!

I’ve lived almost two-thirds of a century now, so I have passed many of the...

February 2021

February 14, 2021

Valentine’s Day and Lent Belong Together

Three years ago, for the first time since 1945, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fell...

February 09, 2021

“So We Could Blend In”: A U.S. Congressman Learns About White Privilege

Today is the first day of the impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump...

February 07, 2021

We are All Wind . . . and That’s a Good Thing

I am not a complainer by nature. My wife, my family, and my friends would...

February 02, 2021

Why Don’t I Feel as Badly as I Should?

I am sure that I’m not the only person who has spent noticeably more time...

January 2021

January 31, 2021

God Is Not Information

When we first moved to Rhode Island in the middle 1990s for my new teaching...

January 07, 2021

The Best of 2020 #5: Leaving Jesusland . . . For Good

For the next several Thursdays, I will be reposting my top blog posts of 2020,...

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 30, 2020

Am I Old Yet?

A few days before Christmas, Jeanne and I were talking with a friend of hers...

December 29, 2020

Is Tolerance a Luxury or a Virtue?

Earlier this month, I posted an essay titled "It Isn't True Just Because You Believe...

December 23, 2020

Grace and Peace Be with You

Grace means suddenly you’re in a different universe from the one where you were stuck,...

December 22, 2020

That Mary Thing

I have a colleague and friend with whom I share a lot in common. Eric...

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 10, 2020

Advent 101–Finding a Retreat Within Yourself

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

November 2020

November 25, 2020

A Covid-19 Thanksgiving

For a number of reasons, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Because my sons (ages 8...

November 22, 2020

Cathedrals and Physics Labs: Saying “Hello” to God

You can either think of the creeds of the great traditions . . . as...

November 10, 2020

Hope: The Thing with Feathers

During his first speech as the new President-elect last Saturday evening, Joe Biden quoted lines...

November 08, 2020

Fixers and Healers

My doctor says that I am his most boring patient, because there is never anything...

October 2020

October 20, 2020

The Soul is Not a Thing, but it Most Certainly is Real

As a philosophy professor, I have the opportunity in just about every class to investigate,...

October 04, 2020

It’s Blessing of the Animals Sunday . . . but who is really getting the blessing?

Today is Blessing of the Animals Sunday, which this year is bittersweet for me. My...

October 01, 2020

Take a Deep Breath

Jeanne and I did not watch the presidential "debate" on Tuesday evening, choosing instead to...

September 2020

September 15, 2020

The Fat, Relentless Ego . . . and what to do about it

This past weekend, Jeanne and I, along with our two sons and our daughter-in-law, travelled...

September 10, 2020

Silence: The Best Answer to Prayer

I, as many people of faith, have often wondered why the divine is so apparently...

September 08, 2020

Living On the Edges of the Christian Circus Tent

Jeanne and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary in July—the gifts we gave each other are...

September 01, 2020

How to Sound Knowledgeable About Things that You Know Nothing About

In 1980, famed science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote the following in an opinion piece for...

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 21, 2020

The Big Sister I Always Wanted: Remembering Marsue

Every once in a while, our lives are blessed with a person who uniquely and...

August 16, 2020

What if my “Best Self” isn’t that Good?

My first teaching position was at a small university in Memphis. My department was the...

August 13, 2020

Leaving Jesusland . . . for good

I make no secret, on this blog or in person, of my love for Canada....

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