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Progressive Christian

2025-06-29T07:50:05-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Did Jesus Care About Family Values?

Last updated on: June 29, 2025 at 7:50 am By Vance Morgan

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Throughout the gospel lectionary readings in Ordinary Time, Jesus regularly says surprising things that contradict our traditional notions of proper ethical behavior. Here’s a section from my forthcoming book A Year of Faith and Philosophy that explores this issue. The gospel readings during Ordinary Time regularly include difficult teachings from Jesus. For instance, in the Proper 7 Year A reading from Matthew [last week], Jesus says that I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against... Read more

2025-06-24T11:17:06-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Most Important and Influential Literary Character

Last updated on: June 24, 2025 at 11:17 am By Vance Morgan

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Some time ago I read the first few pages of Greg Epstein’s Good without God. Epstein is the Humanist chaplain at Harvard University; Jeanne gave me a heads up after she heard him being interviewed on NPR. I appreciated the first few pages of Epstein’s introduction, where he takes the new atheists to task for their failure to take religious belief seriously, but it was Epstein’s definition of God that fully caught my attention. Humanists believe that God is the... Read more

2025-06-22T11:23:16-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Making Things Difficult

Last updated on: June 22, 2025 at 11:23 am By Vance Morgan

A couple of weeks ago in the morning I was greeted in the driveway with Luther having a completely flat tire on the passenger front side (Luther is the name of our 2013 Ford Fusion—long story). We have the highest level of Triple A coverage, so I could have just called them and waited for some young punk to show up and put our donut spare tire on so I could drive to the local tire store (which has taken... Read more

2025-06-20T16:52:41-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As the Deer Longs for Streams of Water

Last updated on: June 20, 2025 at 4:52 pm By Vance Morgan

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Today’s lectionary readings contain two of my favorites, both from the Jewish scriptures. The story of Elijah running for his life from Jezebel is part of my forthcoming book A Year of Faith and Phlosophy, as I posted late last summer. Get Up and Eat But today I focus on Psalm 46, which reminds me of a meaningful encounter with a deer while on retreat, as I described three years ago. As the deer longs for streams of water, so my... Read more

2025-06-17T14:06:50-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There Is No One But Us

Last updated on: June 17, 2025 at 2:06 pm By Vance Morgan

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As I continue to work through my next book project that has been on the shelf for eighteen months or so, I am often surprised by something that I had forgotten about. This is a section from a late chapter in the book–the section is called “A Conference Story.” It seems oddly current. Almost a decade after the Paris conference, I found myself on an Amtrak Acela headed for yet another conference on Simone Weil, where I would be reconnecting... Read more

2025-06-13T13:40:28-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Which Sport Does the World’s Most Interesting Man Prefer?

Last updated on: June 13, 2025 at 1:40 pm By Vance Morgan

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My brother and I stay in contact most regularly on Facebook, where he had the audacity to share this meme the other day: Not one to accept bullshit easily, I immediately responded with this: “This is in response to my demented older brother who prefers hockey to basketball.” Side note: Here’s the real difference between my older brother and me. His meme was shared from someone else’s site. I made mine myself. Now that I know how easy it is... Read more

2025-06-13T13:40:06-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How to be Good

Last updated on: June 13, 2025 at 1:40 pm By Vance Morgan

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I’m re-working a full draft of my next book project–Nice Work If You Can Get It: Lessons and Stories from a Life in the Classroom–this summer in hopes of getting a publisher (or agent) in hand by next semester. I’ve organized it in nine chapters with a “Classroom Interlude” between each of the chapters. Here’s one of those interludes . . . A Polish Franciscan priest. A Lutheran pastor and theologian. A French, Jewish social activist attracted to Marxism. A... Read more

2025-06-11T10:42:55-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is God a Helicopter Parent?

Last updated on: June 11, 2025 at 10:42 am By Vance Morgan

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When you’ve been together with someone for thirty-seven years, being creative for that person’s birthday is a challenge–particularly when that person says “nothing” when you ask her what she wants for her birthday. But I was actually able to completely surprise Jeanne on Monday, thanks to a random comment she made as we were watching television a couple of months ago. As we watched some character jump in a helicopter to rush off to some important event, Jeanne said “riding... Read more

2025-06-07T16:50:04-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Force of Nature’s Birthday Is Today!

Last updated on: June 7, 2025 at 4:50 pm By Vance Morgan

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Today is Jeanne’s birthday. It’s an important one as she begins a new decade. Last year she threw herself a huge party to celebrate “69 on 6/9,” then declared that she wanted no more birthday celebrations in the future. I am ignoring that edict, of course, and have something special planned for later in the day. I’ll tell you about it later this week. This birthday coincides with the beginning of a new phase in Jeanne’s life as she retired... Read more

2025-06-05T17:59:17-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pentecost: Big Bird is In the House

Last updated on: June 5, 2025 at 5:59 pm By Vance Morgan

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The Day of Pentecost, next to Christmas and Easter, is undoubtedly the biggest single day on the Christian liturgical calendar. I was taught as a child that Pentecost is “the birthday of the church,” although I had no idea what that meant. One thing is clear, though—Pentecost marks the coming out party of the Holy Spirit. In John 3, perhaps the best-known chapter in the New Testament, Jesus is visited by Nicodemus, a Pharisee who is fascinated by what Jesus... Read more

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