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Progressive Christian

2020-11-17T12:23:24-04:00

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 Ancient Stoics in Zoom Land

Last updated on: November 17, 2020 at 12:23 pm By Vance Morgan

I was asked a few days ago by someone in our Marketing and Communications area on campus (the people who are responsible for what we look and sound like to the larger community) to reflect, now that this semester is close to over, on what teaching during Covid-19 has been for both my students and me. This essay is spending the next two weeks on the front page of my college’s website. Enjoy! The first line of the ancient Stoic... Read more

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Development of Western Civilization

Development of Western Civilization

2020-11-14T17:45:12-04:00

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.

Don’t Make Me Come Down There

Last updated on: November 14, 2020 at 5:45 pm By Vance Morgan

As is the case with many of the things in my life, my knowledge of social media is both narrow and deep. I am active only on two social media platforms, but on those limited platforms I am very active. Any time I have wondered about something other than Facebook and Twitter, I ask my oldest son who, because of his work, is active across numerous social media platforms, whether I should try it out. He always tells me to... Read more

2020-11-12T08:26:30-04:00

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.

Dancing with the Stars

Last updated on: November 12, 2020 at 8:26 am By Vance Morgan

I love the stars. Not as in “Dancing with . . .” or in Hollywood or Washington DC. I mean the stars in the heavens. The night sky in rural Vermont where I grew up, far from the glare of urban lights, was a source of endless wonder and entertainment. Part of the attraction of the stars was their sheer beauty and mystery, providing a glimpse of light-years past history; this was heightened by my love of the stories of... Read more

2020-11-09T11:34:28-04:00

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.

Hope: The Thing with Feathers

Last updated on: November 9, 2020 at 11:34 am By Vance Morgan

During his first speech as the new President-elect last Saturday evening, Joe Biden quoted lines from the chorus of a hymn that has come to be meaningful to him: And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings Bear you on the breath of dawn Make you to shine like the sun And hold you in the palm of His hand Anyone who has ever stepped inside a Catholic church more than once for a mass that includes music has... Read more

2020-11-08T07:36:33-04:00

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.

Fixers and Healers

Last updated on: November 8, 2020 at 7:36 am By Vance Morgan

My doctor says that I am his most boring patient, because there is never anything wrong with me. I show up for my yearly appointment, my blood pressure is good, my weight fluctuates within a five-pound range of my target weight, my blood work is always fine—my only complaints are spring allergies, for which he says “take Claritin,” and occasional sciatica problems, for which he suggests that I should stretch more. I have never been in a hospital overnight except when I... Read more

2020-11-04T20:11:10-04:00

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

Last updated on: November 4, 2020 at 8:11 pm By Vance Morgan

People are prone to apply the meaning of other people’s arguments to suit opinions that they have previously determined in their minds. Michel de Montaigne Not long ago, I found myself involved in a discussion on a progressive Christian Facebook page, a site that occasionally shares my blog posts. The article under discussion was directed primarily at evangelical Christians, wondering what they thought about the fact that Jesus in the gospels regularly speaks and acts as if he believes in income... Read more

2020-11-02T22:17:02-04:00

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.

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

Last updated on: November 2, 2020 at 10:17 pm By Vance Morgan

In 1969, Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge released the single ‘Worst That Could Happen”—it went gold. It’s a ballad about how distressing it is to find out that your former girlfriend is getting married to someone who apparently is a much better catch than you were. The psychological angst is caught in the recurring chorus: Maybe it’s the best thing Maybe it’s the best thing for you But it’s the worst that could happen to me Today is Election... Read more

2020-11-01T13:30:26-04:00

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.

Being a Person Rather than a Saint

Last updated on: November 1, 2020 at 1:30 pm By Vance Morgan

Today is “All Saints Day. I come from a hardcore Protestant world, a world in which we did not do “saints.” Even though I have spent much of my adult life, first as a graduate student, then as a professor, in Catholic higher education, I am still somewhat confused by and uncomfortable with the very notion of “sainthood.” In one of my classes, we are currently working on Albert Camus’ The Plague; one of the main characters, when described as a “saint”... Read more

2020-10-31T11:52:06-04:00

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.

A Halloween Frame of Mind

Last updated on: October 31, 2020 at 11:52 am By Vance Morgan

It’s Halloween!–one of my least favorite holidays of the year. I know that offends many people, but so be it. Still, the onset of Halloween brings back memories–many of them religion and church related. Maybe that’s why I don’t like the holiday! As a 64-year-old guy with no small children in my life, I don’t do Halloween. Often Jeanne and I celebrate the day by going to a late afternoon movie, followed by dinner, so we can be conveniently away during... Read more

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2020-10-28T10:50:55-04:00

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.

Exorcising the Ghosts of Jesus Past

Last updated on: October 28, 2020 at 10:50 am By Vance Morgan

One Sunday, toward the end of a particularly lively and deep seminar with my “Living Stones” adult Christian education group after the morning service, I asked the group “so what makes us think that we are anything special, that Episcopalians have a better angle on God than anyone else? What makes us think that our way is any better than anyone else’s, Christian or otherwise, other than that it is our way?” Very quickly one person replied “it isn’t any better.” And everyone... Read more

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