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October 2019

October 17, 2019

How to Tell if You are More Christian Than I Am

If we remembered that water takes its color from the vessel containing it, we would...

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 17, 2019

Why No One Has the Right to be “Comfortable”

An item popped up on my Facebook news feed a couple of days ago reporting...

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 25, 2019

Remembering One of my Best Friends (and celebrating seven years of blogging)

This week marks seven years since I, with trepidation, misgivings and a certain amount of...

August 20, 2019

Will All Things Be Well?

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall...

August 04, 2019

The National Cathedral Speaks Truth to Donald Trump

“Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented.” “I’m Not That Kind of Christian.” “The Christian Left.” These...

July 2019

July 16, 2019

The Bible is Not the Word of God. Unless . . .

Frequently, my conservative commenters suggest I will be immediately straightened out if I just “read...

July 10, 2019

What if the facts lead to a conclusion that you don’t like?

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

June 2019

June 13, 2019

What My Father Taught Me About Reading and Belief

One of the most important tasks that an author has to face when a book...

June 11, 2019

Your tree and your dog will get more “likes” than you do, and other things I have learned in seven years of blogging

This August will mark my seventh year of blogging, the last two and a half...

June 06, 2019

The Greatest Task of All is to Live

For the past several years my upper-division (juniors and seniors) classes have included an ongoing...

May 2019

May 30, 2019

Happiness is Overrated, but Learning to Live Well is Not

It is the happy life that asks more of us than we realize we have...

May 02, 2019

Does Everything Happen for a Reason? I don’t think so

During the last seminar of the semester in one of my classes this week, my...

March 2019

March 27, 2019

What Goes Down . . . Must Come Back Up

Today's Psalm invited us to go to the mountain of the Lord–which reminded me of...

March 17, 2019

Why I Am Done Trying to Prove the Existence of God

If you think you understand it, it is not God. Soren Kierkegaard In Marilynne Robinson’s...

February 2019

February 17, 2019

An Excuse Not To Think

I recently read the following observations: They weren’t such bad fellows. He had mixed with...

January 2019

January 30, 2019

Sacred Spaces and Dunkin Donuts

I currently am working my way slowly through Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography of Leonardo da...

January 26, 2019

When it Comes to Prayer, Stop Talking and Start Relating

One of the most fascinating and troubling verses in the Jewish scriptures is from the...

January 08, 2019

A New Year’s Resolution: Dream More, and Waste Less Time

At the beginning of a new year, I often find myself thinking not so much...

November 2018

November 27, 2018

This is Why I am Not an Atheist

Despite my consistent self-description as a “person of faith,” I have been accused occasionally over...

November 15, 2018

Mary, Martha, and Time Management

The stereotype of the Type A personality has become an entrenched part of cultural lore....

October 2018

October 23, 2018

Assisting the Absent God: Helping to Repair a Broken World

Every once in a while someone posts a comment on my blog that reminds me...

October 21, 2018

The Chapel and the Man Cave: Bridging the Gap Between Faith and Intellect

About a month ago I received an email from my friend Marsue, brief and to...

October 18, 2018

Does a Christian Have to be Certain About Anything?

If we remembered that water takes its color from the vessel containing it, we would...

September 2018

September 03, 2018

It’s Labor Day–What is YOUR Labor Worth?

It's Labor Day--an opportunity for each of us to reflect on the value of our...

August 2018

August 21, 2018

Hail Frieda, Full of Grace

Six years ago today, after a great deal of resistance, I finally followed the advice...

July 2018

July 29, 2018

Like this God Stuff is Real

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

July 01, 2018

Prayer for People Who Don’t Believe in God

Last week I contracted with a publisher to write a book on prayer--the working title...

May 2018

May 03, 2018

One Nation, Under God?

I was invited earlier this week by an online publication that I write for occasionally...

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