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August 2024

August 09, 2024

Where Hatred is Disguised as Love

A few days ago Jeanne said "I've got something you have to go to." I've...

April 2024

April 04, 2024

The Rapture or a Random Harvest?

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

April 02, 2024

The Apocalypse During Apocalyptic Times

It is interesting, perhaps fitting, that the first class in my team-taught "Apocalypse: colloquium after...

December 2023

December 12, 2023

God Is On The Journey Too

Two of the contemporary authors whose insights on faith and spirituality challenge me the most...

October 2023

October 10, 2023

In Bed with Krista and Kate

It was just beginning to turn dimly light when I began to wake up. I...

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...

January 2023

January 28, 2023

An Epiphany Worthy of the Season

I have heard of you with my ears, but now my eyes have seen you. The...

December 2022

December 27, 2022

“It has been done in your name”: A cautionary tale from Charles Dickens

This year Jeanne and I spent this year at home for Christmas for the first...

October 2022

October 25, 2022

Karl Marx and Jesus Walk into a Bar . . .

We should read the New Testament as saying that how we treat each other on...

September 2022

September 13, 2022

When Atheism Turns Evangelical

An evangelical Christian and an atheist got into an argument recently on this blog's Facebook...

August 2022

August 22, 2022

Anniversary Week for “Freelance Christianity”: Here’s the #2 post in the past decade

This week marks the tenth anniversary of this blog--hard to believe! It has been on...

January 2022

January 24, 2022

Why Jesus was Obsessed with Outsiders

The first text in the new “Faith and Doubt” colloquium that I am team-teaching this...

December 2021

December 06, 2021

“On Earth as it is in Heaven”: Living the Social Gospel

At the end of the first of two semesters in the interdisiplinary and team-taught honors...

August 2021

August 28, 2021

Why Am I a Liberal? Because I Am a Christian

The continuing theme of this blog for the past nine years has been an exploration...

July 2021

July 14, 2021

The Tongue of a Teacher

One of the many positive things that happened to me during the months of pandemic...

May 2021

May 20, 2021

Why Graduation Day and Pentecost Belong Together

Today is commencement on my campus. There were no commencement exercises last year--that there will...

March 2021

March 14, 2021

Returning to the Basics

Today's lectionary texts take us back to the basics. Sports fans old enough to remember...

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...

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...

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...

October 2020

October 29, 2020

Exorcising the Ghosts of Jesus Past

One Sunday, toward the end of a particularly lively and deep seminar with my “Living...

October 27, 2020

Let’s Get Real: Absolutely Everthing is at Stake One Week from Today

I spend a lot of time on this blog advocating for hope, for balance, for...

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 06, 2020

On Earth, as it is in Heaven: Why Faith is Always Political

Last Sunday, it was my turn to be lector at church. The reading from the...

September 2020

September 27, 2020

“It has been done in your name”: When Christians do un-Christian things

One of my teaching teammates this semester in the interdisciplinary course I regularly participate in...

August 2020

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 11, 2020

I’m not a Catholic, but I could play one on TV

Classes begin on my campus in three weeks. That, in the middle of a pandemic,...

August 04, 2020

What if God Doesn’t Want to be Found?

Summer is a time for catching up on my non-philosophy reading and finding new authors....

July 2020

July 26, 2020

Why are Christians So Angry and Fearful?

I am currently working my way through Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s brand new book Jesus...

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