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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 05, 2021

No One Owns God

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

May 03, 2021

Because Survival is Insufficient

“Remember K from our colloquium last year?” my teaching partner emailed late last week. “G...

April 2021

April 15, 2021

Death and Taxes

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

March 2021

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 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 18, 2021

Flesh and Blood Goodness

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

February 11, 2021

Stalking the Elusive God

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

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...

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 26, 2021

Liberal Christianity on the Rise

Last Saturday, the New York Times published a fascinating article by Elizabeth Dias called “In...

January 24, 2021

Dealing With Our Inner Nazi

We ought not to hide from ourselves that Nazi Germany is a mirror for all...

January 19, 2021

Can You Be a Christian Capitalist? Can You Be a Capitalist Christian?

There is nothing that attracts the ire of various commenters on this blog more than...

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,...

December 2020

December 27, 2020

A Different Kind of Christmas Story

Because of Covid-19, a less-than-smooth transition from one administration to another, and a general impatience...

December 22, 2020

That Mary Thing

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

December 12, 2020

Beauty for Ashes: Accepting the Call of Advent

Two weeks ago, I gave the First Sunday of Advent sermon at Trinity Episcopal Church...

December 03, 2020

Will Goodness Become Cool?

As President-elect Biden rolls out his National Security choices, his economic strategy team, his communications...

December 01, 2020

I Don’t Know. I was Wrong. I’m Sorry. I Need Help.

A popular Christian writer got herself in trouble a while ago by suggesting on Twitter...

November 2020

November 17, 2020

The Ancient Stoics in Zoom Land

I was asked a few days ago by someone in our Marketing and Communications area...

November 12, 2020

Dancing with the Stars

I love the stars. Not as in “Dancing with . . .” or in Hollywood...

November 05, 2020

What to Do When an Argument Leads to a Conclusion that You Don’t Like

People are prone to apply the meaning of other people’s arguments to suit opinions that...

November 03, 2020

It’s Election Day: What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

In 1969, Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge released the single 'Worst That Could Happen"—it...

November 01, 2020

Being a Person Rather than a Saint

Today is “All Saints Day. I come from a hardcore Protestant world, a world in which...

October 2020

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 18, 2020

When God Gives Us the Bird

I get myself in trouble on this blog occasionally, often deliberately. I know that most...

October 12, 2020

All Things are Become New: A reminder of why teaching is the best profession of all

I realized this morning that exactly seven years ago, the beautiful humanities building on our...

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