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August 2025

August 07, 2025

Peeking into the Mind of God

I once led a seminar with a number of colleagues from the Honors Program as...

July 2025

July 06, 2025

Listening to the Invisible People

Today's reading from the Jewish scriptures contains many powerful lessons that remain relevant thousands of...

November 2024

November 12, 2024

Darkness, Silence, and Prayer

One Sunday some time  ago as I was listening to our local NPR station in...

August 2024

August 04, 2024

What Is This? A story about change

Organized religion often is a source of packaged answers and comfortable solutions to important questions...

June 2024

June 04, 2024

Some Thoughts on Self-Repair

Two years ago this week I had a fall riding my bike that resulted in,...

February 2024

February 29, 2024

Being a Person of Faith in Challenging Times

This has been a challenging week in class, not because of my students but because...

February 27, 2024

God, Your Boss at Applebee’s, and Larry

An alternative title for this essay might be “A Comedian Interprets the Parable of the...

September 2023

September 20, 2023

Abortion and Faith Discussions: Part Three

As I prepared to be a panelist at the “With Mutual Respect” event, I unexpectedly...

September 06, 2023

What Does the Bible Say About . . . ?

In an interview with CNN a few years ago, Barbara Brown Taylor said something that...

August 2023

August 24, 2023

The Problem with Wisdom, Part Two

Last week I posted an essay called “The Problem with Wisdom, Part One,” inspired by...

July 2023

July 03, 2023

Sitting in Safety Without Fear–an Independence Day Reflection

Every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall...

March 2023

March 07, 2023

Living with “Moment Faith”

After spending six and a half decades in the middle of this faith thing, one...

December 2022

December 10, 2022

Things are Getting Real: A Conversation Between Jesus and John the Baptist

In a second season episode of “The Chosen,” a multi-year cinematic treatment of the life...

September 2022

September 07, 2022

What Does the Bible Say about _____________?

In an interview with CNN a few years ago, Barbara Brown Taylor said something that...

September 04, 2022

Exploring the Studio Space with God

Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. Bruce Dickinson Regular...

July 2022

July 14, 2022

Some Things Repair Themselves, and Some Things Do Not

My recently concluded crappy month of June ended with a minor fender-bender, the result of...

July 09, 2022

What They Don’t Tell Us About Wisdom–Part Two

A couple of weeks ago I posted an essay called “What They Don’t Tell Us...

May 2022

May 19, 2022

Making Darkness and Silence your Friends

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

March 2022

March 26, 2022

On the Days when I Believe . . .

After spending six and a half decades in the middle of this faith thing, one...

October 2021

October 28, 2021

An Immigrant, a Prostitute, and God’s Plan

One of my favorite features of liturgical worship is encountering familiar and favorite texts during...

August 2021

August 10, 2021

What Does the Lord Require? More Cowbell

Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. Bruce Dickinson Regular...

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 10, 2021

Getting Real: A Conversation Between Jesus and John the Baptist

In a recent episode of “The Chosen,” a multi-year cinematic treatment of the life of...

June 2021

June 29, 2021

How to Take Our Country Back

As Independence Day approaches, there are many reasons to be hopeful. Things are continuing to...

June 15, 2021

What the Author Meant Does Not Matter

At the beginning of a seminar on the books of Exodus and Job from the...

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,...

November 2020

November 19, 2020

God is Bigger than Religion

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks died on November 7, after a brief bout with cancer. Sacks...

September 2020

September 20, 2020

WTF Is This??–A story about change

Organized religion often is a source of packaged answers and comfortable solutions to important questions...

September 13, 2020

There is No Substitute for the Real Thing

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to return to one of my two favorite...

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...

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