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April 2020

April 26, 2020

Facing Coronavirus “What Ifs?”

The final week of the strangest academic semester of my life begins tomorrow. As I...

April 23, 2020

Jesus, Cleopas, and George Have a Conversation About Hope

“Now abide faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.” These words...

April 22, 2020

On Earth Day, I’m Wondering: Is Planet Earth a Loser?

My youngest son was born in 1981 and grew up as Americans began, for the...

April 16, 2020

Faith in a Time of Doubt and Uncertainty

The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty Anne Lamott We are currently living...

April 02, 2020

“I Don’t Know”: The most profoundly religious statement of all

Let me tell you here first, “trust in God” has never floated my boat as...

March 2020

March 14, 2020

Jesus’ Advice Concerning the Coronavirus: Don’t Be Afraid of Tomorrow

If there ever was a time when Jesus’ suggestion that we should “not worry about...

March 11, 2020

The Gospel in a Nutshell

Sports fans old enough to remember the 70s and 80s will recall that a regular...

February 2020

February 20, 2020

Professional Wrestling and the Liberal Agenda

My tattoo-artist oldest son reported in a phone conversation the other day that one of...

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 08, 2020

The Gospel at Gun-Point

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

February 04, 2020

Profiles in Cowardice: Moving forward after the impeachment trial

Unless a miracle occurs, the impeachment trial of Donald John Trump will end today, with...

January 2020

January 30, 2020

Best of 2019 #1: I am a Liberal Because I am a Christian

Last April, I decided to write an essay exploring something that I have been saying...

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 06, 2020

An Epiphany in Real Time

Yesterday was the Feast of the Epiphany, the first day of the liturgical season that...

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 26, 2019

Dammit, It’s the Incarnation!

Last year around this time, I posted an essay that turned out to be more...

December 18, 2019

Some Thoughts about Impeachment Day–from 400+ years ago

Next semester I will be teaching an honors colloquium on Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), one...

December 08, 2019

There Is No Immaculate Perception

I have taught philosophy in Catholic higher education for twenty-eight years as a non-Catholic. Although...

December 03, 2019

The Incarnation in a Post-Truth World

Almost three years ago, the Oxford Dictionary named “post-truth” as its 2016 word of the year,...

November 2019

November 23, 2019

Difficult Dialogues: Can We Disagree Without Demonizing?

Over the past several years on my campus, events called “Difficult Dialogues” have regularly been...

October 2019

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 03, 2019

Possible Responses to the Current Insanity: “Whatever” and “Oh, Well”

Given my teaching schedule this semester, I begin each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday on the...

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 28, 2019

Being Open to the Possibility of God: An excerpt from my new book “Prayer for People Who Don’t Believe in God”

I am pleased to announce that my new book, Prayer for People Who Don't Believe in...

September 22, 2019

Are You Jesus? A Prophetic Challenge from Joan Chittister

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a talk given by one of my heroes....

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 03, 2019

What Lies About God Do You Believe?

In Lies We Believe Abut God, Wm. Paul Young (author of The Shack) tells the story of...

August 2019

August 27, 2019

What is the Best Evidence that God is Real?

In her wonderful memoir Take This Bread, Sara Miles tells us of a conversation she had...

August 15, 2019

Does Faith Need a Creed?

One Sunday, I decided to pay close attention to the words of the Nicene Creed...

August 06, 2019

Are We Tending Toward Justice?

I was reminded when I visited the MLK Memorial in Washington DC a couple of...

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