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May 2021

May 15, 2021

Do You Want to be Healed?

My wife Jeanne and I have been enjoying “The Chosen,” a multi-year cinematic life of...

May 10, 2021

Christians Should Pay Less Attention to Their Souls, and More Attention to Their Bodies

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

May 05, 2021

No One Owns God

Over the past few weeks, I have received more negative comments on my blog than...

May 02, 2021

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear–or so we’re told

After the mass shooting in a Colorado grocery store a few weeks ago, a woman...

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 27, 2021

So You Want to Be a Good Person?

A Polish Franciscan priest. A Lutheran pastor and theologian. A French, Jewish social activist attracted...

April 24, 2021

The Bible is Not the Word of God

Either the Bible is true or it isn’t, either it’s God’s inspired inerrant word or...

April 20, 2021

What Kind of Person Do You Want to Be?

I’ve been reminded recently, in a number of random ways, of just how quickly time...

April 15, 2021

Death and Taxes

In a normal year, today would be everyone's least favorite day of the year--Tax Day....

April 13, 2021

The Tools of Lifetime Learning

My father, an itinerant Baptist minister, once told me about a plaque on the preacher’s...

April 10, 2021

Faith and Doubt Go Hand in Hand

The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty Anne Lamott I am currently in...

April 03, 2021

An Easter Warning: Jesus Isn’t Walking Through That Door

God is not an insurance agent. H. G. Wells During Rick Pitino’s tenure as the...

March 2021

March 31, 2021

An April Fools Day Question About Jesus: Did He Ever Laugh?

I know we're in the middle of Holy Week. I know that today is Maundy...

March 29, 2021

A Holy Week Reflection: Faith is More Important than Doctrine

Holy Week is upon us once again—as good a time as any to step back...

March 27, 2021

A Palm Sunday Reflection on Power and Love

Today is Palm Sunday, one of the most dramatic days on the liturgical calendar. But...

March 25, 2021

The Wisdom of Mediocrates

A Facebook friend who knows that I am a philosophy professor sent me a thought-provoking...

March 20, 2021

Dr. Seuss, Cancel Culture, and Why Each of Us Matters

Dr. Seuss has been in the news lately, as the Seuss estate chose earlier this...

March 18, 2021

Our Great and Glorious Masterpiece

Over the years, a typical scenario has unfolded when I meet someone for the first...

March 09, 2021

#SayThisNotThat

To clarify thought, to discredit the intrinsically meaningless words, and to define the use of...

March 07, 2021

Ah Yes, I Remember It Well . . . or do I?

My youngest son, Justin, has a remarkable memory–for, as he puts it, “totally useless facts.”...

March 02, 2021

Hitler, Trump, and the Golden Calf

In one of my seminars a week or so ago, my students and I considered...

February 2021

February 28, 2021

A Liberal’s Worst Nightmare

One of my teaching colleagues and mentors used to love to tell the story of...

February 25, 2021

What is the Difference Between Solitude and Being Alone?

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to yourself. Michel de...

February 23, 2021

It’s Been a Year of Wonders

One of the pleasant surprises of the new semester, now four weeks old, is that...

February 18, 2021

Flesh and Blood Goodness

Once many years ago, a couple I was close friends with was having marital problems....

February 16, 2021

The Earth is Round. Two Plus Two Equals Four. Deal With It

The earth is round. Two plus two equals four. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won...

February 11, 2021

Stalking the Elusive God

One of the many things I enjoy about the teaching profession is creating new courses....

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 04, 2021

The Best of 2020 #1: The Coronavirus, the Apocalypse, and The Book of Revelation

It is not surprising, given what 2020 was like, that the most viewed post on...

January 2021

January 21, 2021

The Best of 2020 #3: Why are Christians So Angry and Fearful?

Coming in at #3 in my "Best of 2020" blog post lineup is "Why are...

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