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February 2020

February 29, 2020

Jesus I Know . . . But Who are You?

Today is the First Sunday of Lent; the gospel traditionally is a version of Jesus'...

February 26, 2020

What I Learned When I Visited Cuba

Cuba and Fidel Castro are in the news, as Bernie Sanders seeks to explain why...

February 23, 2020

A Lesson from Transfiguration Sunday: Stop, Look, and Listen–but don’t touch

Today is the last Sunday before Lent, a Sunday which, in the liturgical calendar, is...

February 18, 2020

When an Important Memory Turns Out to be Wrong

My youngest son, Justin, has a remarkable memory--for, as he puts it, "totally useless facts."...

February 11, 2020

Spiritual Punctuation

In my life-long spiritual journey, the decade of my twenties was the charismatic decade. No,...

February 08, 2020

The Gospel at Gun-Point

In the religious world of my youth and adolescence, Billy Graham was a rock star....

January 2020

January 28, 2020

When to Care, and When Not to Care

The only way I can get through the tedium of working out on an aerobic...

January 21, 2020

As the Impeachment Trial Begins, Don’t Forget to Think–Even When It’s Hard

Today, the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump begins in earnest. As we...

January 14, 2020

Life Lessons Learned from “The Muppet Show”

I have a good friend and colleague in the philosophy department who has twin daughters....

January 12, 2020

What Really Happened that Day at the Jordan River?

The season of Epiphany, squeezed in between the Christmas season and Lent, is the annual...

January 04, 2020

On the Art of Discussion: How to Avoid Being an Ass

In final preparation for the spring semester that will begin in ten days, I am...

December 2019

December 31, 2019

Letting God Creep In

About halfway through his lengthy essay, Schjeldahl notes his agreement with one of Weil’s...

December 23, 2019

Why the Details of Jesus’ Birth Don’t Matter

A couple of years ago, I was asked to take on a temporary administrative position...

December 12, 2019

“It has been done in your name”: A Dickensian Tale of “Good Christians” Doing Harm

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

December 10, 2019

Living in a Minor Key

At some point early in their musical training, all serious musicians are introduced to the...

December 01, 2019

Living in the Advent Zone

In Philosophical Fragments, 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard tells a lovely story about a powerful king...

November 2019

November 21, 2019

What Are You Afraid Of?

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with a young man named...

November 17, 2019

White Privilege and Jesus

In my General Ethics class, my students and I have just finished a three week...

November 06, 2019

Saint Andrew, Bagpipes, and Cats

I had a lovely lunch last week with one of my best and most valued...

October 2019

October 29, 2019

Halloween is coming: Time to Exorcise a Couple of Jesus Imposters

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

October 22, 2019

Living the Dream and Getting S**t Done

Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. This, promises...

October 20, 2019

A Question for Atheists and Theists: How Much Evidence is “Enough”?

This past week I started a unit in my General Ethics students called “Does God...

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...

October 11, 2019

A Liberal’s Worst Nightmare: Bridging the gap between words and actions

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

October 07, 2019

Who Are You, Really? Think Carefully About Your Answer . . .

Jeanne and I are great lovers of movies. As I have described in this blog...

October 05, 2019

Spiritual Lessons Learned from an Obese Cat: A reflection for “Blessing of the Animals” Sunday

I was reminded yesterday that exactly eight years ago, one of my favorite pictures of...

October 01, 2019

Are you a “Christian Capitalist” or a “Capitalist Christian”?

For those who claim to be persons of Christian faith and who also are largely...

September 2019

September 26, 2019

Lessons learned from a “glow in the dark” cross

In one of the many books written by an atheist about Christianity over the past...

September 19, 2019

Even Jesus Had Bad Days–and we can learn something from them

A conversation heard behind the scenes: Dude! Did you see what just happened?? How could...

September 13, 2019

Jesus and Karl Marx walk into a adult beverage establishment . . .

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

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