Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian

2023-09-03T17:09:36-04:00

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.

Should My Time Be For Sale? A Labor Day Reflection

Last updated on: September 3, 2023 at 5:09 pm By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

What follows is a story from my current book project–Nice Work if You Can Get It: Lessons and Stories from a Lifetime in the Classroom. It’s a bit longer than my usual blog posts, but it is very appropriate for Labor Day. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it! In 1729, Jonathan Swift of Gulliver’s Travels fame anonymously published a short work entitled A Modest Proposal, one of the great works of satire in the Western literary tradition. The complete title of... Read more

2023-09-14T10:57:54-04:00

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 Moral Life in One Sentence

Last updated on: September 14, 2023 at 10:57 am By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

A couple of years ago, I was interviewed in my office by a reporter from The Cowl, my college’s student-run newspaper. The interviewer was a former student and asked some reallly good questions. For instance, she knew that I have taught at least two dozen sections of General Ethics, the philosophy department’s gateway course into moral philospohy, over the three decades that I have taught at the college. “You have introduced many students over the years to many different moral perspectives... Read more

Big Bird

Development of Western Civilization

Development of Western Civilization

2023-08-30T09:37:48-04:00

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.

Creating a Sabbath Culture (why everyone should have sabbaticals)

Last updated on: August 30, 2023 at 9:37 am By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

Fall semester classes started last Monday. And I’m on sabbatical, not returning to the classroom until the day after MLK day in January. I’m sure that my colleagues are probably jealous of those colleagues, such as myself, who are on sabbatical—but I don’t feel guilty about that. I felt the same way each of the last six Augusts about my colleagues who were beginning sabbatical. Unfortunately sabbatical only shows up once every seven years—that means that six out of every... Read more

2023-08-28T20:38:02-04:00

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.

Asking the Right Question

Last updated on: August 28, 2023 at 8:38 pm By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

Several years ago during my four-year stint as chair of the Providence College philosophy department, I found myself sitting at a table with several very concerned parents. It was during one of the summer orientation sessions for incoming freshmen, and these were the parents of students who had indicated interest in majoring in philosophy once their college career began in the fall. The question, expressed in various ways, that all of these parents wanted an answer to was “What the... Read more

teaching

Aristotle

2023-08-26T10:39:03-04:00

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 Great Homesickness We Could Never Shake Off

Last updated on: August 26, 2023 at 10:39 am By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

The first draft of my first sabbatical book project is completed, minus the introduction and conclusion. As several trusted friends and family members read the draft and provide their insights, I am revisiting any number of essays from the past that I’m sure will inform the introduction to the book in which I will be providing a brief (hopefully) overview of my religious pedigree. One of the less attractive aspects of this upbringing was Bible camp. I was the world’s most... Read more

2023-08-24T08:29:51-04:00

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 Problem with Wisdom, Part Two

Last updated on: August 24, 2023 at 8:29 am By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

Last week I posted an essay called “The Problem with Wisdom, Part One,” inspired by a reading from the book of Proverbs that was part of the Sunday lectionary offerings that I read in church as lector recently. The Problem with Wisdom, Part One The focus of the reading that Sunday, and the focus of much of Proverbs is Wisdom, presented as a woman who stands at the gates and has a lot to say. Much of what she has... Read more

2023-08-06T15:08:11-04:00

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 Big Sister I Always Wanted: Remembering Marsue three years later

Last updated on: August 6, 2023 at 3:08 pm By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

It doesn’t seem possible that it has been exactly three years since Marsue Harris, one of the best friends and wisest people I have ever encounteed, passed away. She died in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic in August 2020 after a months-long battle with cancer. Jeanne and I spearheaded the organization of a memorial service for her early in 2021; participants signed on, readings were selected, and the date was set. But then a new variant flared up, masks... Read more

2023-08-06T14:47:58-04:00

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.

Even the Best of Us has Bad Days

Last updated on: August 6, 2023 at 2:47 pm By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

A conversation heard behind the scenes: Dude! Did you see what just happened?? How could I?? I’m in charge of the freaking luggage today and am stuck way back here. Why is the crowd always biggest when I have luggage duty? The big guy just got dissed in front of everyone! Are you shitting me? Tell me! He was already in a pissy mood and this woman kept nagging him and bothering him until he finally put her in her... Read more

2023-08-06T18:10:37-04:00

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 Problem with Wisdom, Part One

Last updated on: August 6, 2023 at 6:10 pm By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

In much wisdom there is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Ecclesiastes 1:18 The last time I was lector at church, the reading from the Jewish scriptures was a very cool passage from the book of Proverbs. Wisdom is introduced at the beginning of the reading from chapter 8: “At the crossroads she takes her stand . . . at the entrance of the portals she cries out.” Who is Wisdom, and what does she have to... Read more

2023-08-13T09:09:44-04:00

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.

What College is Good For

Last updated on: August 13, 2023 at 9:09 am By Vance Morgan

0 Comments

I began gathering materials for my main sabbatical book project five years ago. Thanks to being approached to write a different book by a publisher (which was published in 2020), followed by two years of pandemic, I placed the project on hold. As I’ve returned this summer to the work from a few years ago, I’ve enjoyed fully immersing myself in the joys and challenges of more than three decades of teaching. What follows is a reflection that I’m sure... Read more

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What acrostic device is used in many Psalms and Proverbs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Numerical sequence Reversed order Alphabetic order Chronological order

Books by This Author Books by Vance G. Morgan

See All Titles »

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Advent AI Angels Artificial intelligence atheism attention baptism Baptists beauty belief Benedictines Bible bicycling Big Bird books Bovina Camaldoli hermitage Canada Catholicism cats certainty change Christianity Christmas Collegeville Covid-19 creativity Development of Western Civilization dogs doubt Easter Enneagram Epiphany Episcopal ethics Eucharist evil extroverts Facebook faith family fear flowers forgiveness freedom friends God goodness grace happiness heaven hell history Holy Spirit Holy Week hope human nature humility humor idolatry incarnation introverts irreverence Islam Jeanne Jesus Joe Biden joy Judaism justice Kamala Harris knowledge Lent listen literature liturgy love Marsue Memorial Day miracles movies music mystery mythology NPR Old Testament optimism paradox peace Penguins philosophy piano podcast politics power prayer Protestantism Providence College Religion Rhode Island sabbatical sacrament science seeing silence Simone Weil Socrates soul sports St. John's College stories suffering tattoo teaching technology television theology thinking time tolerance transcendence travel trees trust truth Uncategorized Vermont wisdom wonder writing

Select a Month May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Progressive Christian