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Progressive Christian

2020-10-24T17:04:11-04:00

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.

Let’s Get Real: Absolutely Everthing is at Stake One Week from Today

Last updated on: October 24, 2020 at 5:04 pm By Vance Morgan

I spend a lot of time on this blog advocating for hope, for balance, for refusing to judge those who believe differently than I do simply because they believe differently, and for extending the benefit of a doubt even to those whose beliefs and commitments are not only different than mine, but completely offensive to everything I consider to be important. But today, one week before the most important Election Day of my life (and the twelfth presidential election I... Read more

2020-10-23T19:12:49-04:00

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.

“If people are just going to keep doing that, I wish I’d never been born.”

Last updated on: October 23, 2020 at 7:12 pm By Vance Morgan

We’ve all done this, we bang and bang on the door of hope, and don’t anyone dare suggest there’s nobody home. Barbara Kingsolver I recently finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s latest novel, Unsheltered. One of the first full-length, fictional treatments of what it’s been like to live in the cognitive and social dissonance that has accompanied the rise and presidency of Donald Trump, it is not one of my favorites of her many novels (The Poisonwood Bible remains my favorite). Unsheltered is populated with characters who... Read more

2020-10-21T10:31:32-04:00

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.

“Political Jesus”: Yes, those words belong together

Last updated on: October 21, 2020 at 10:31 am By Vance Morgan

In a recent interview, Union Theological Seminary president Serene Jones said that “If you really believe this stuff about grace, if you really believe God loves everybody and the world, and forgives, ultimately, in mercy, everybody, it profoundly affects your politics.” Theology is always political. As we speed toward the Presidential election and its aftermath, there is no better time to consider the political implications of one’s faith. In a well-known and often-quoted passage from the Jewish scriptures, the prophet... Read more

2020-10-19T09:27:51-04:00

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 Soul is Not a Thing, but it Most Certainly is Real

Last updated on: October 19, 2020 at 9:27 am By Vance Morgan

As a philosophy professor, I have the opportunity in just about every class to investigate, along with my students, human nature. What exactly are we? What makes us different from everything else that exists? Huge questions, of course, all tangled up with assumptions, experiences, and—in many instances—religious belief. To set the stage for human nature discussions, I often rely on my students’ intuitive reactions to the following definition of “human being”: A human being is a physical thing, plus something... Read more

2020-10-17T21:32:25-04:00

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.

When God Gives Us the Bird

Last updated on: October 17, 2020 at 9:32 pm By Vance Morgan

I get myself in trouble on this blog occasionally, often deliberately. I know that most of my regular readers are people of like mind on matters of faith, politics, life, and just about everything I write about. But I’m always glad when a comment on the blog or social media lets me know that I’ve touched a nerve that someone would just as soon not have anyone touch. The other day, in a conversation with someone who had dropped a... Read more

2020-10-15T14:50:47-04:00

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 Read the Constitution like Literalists Read the Bible

Last updated on: October 15, 2020 at 2:50 pm By Vance Morgan

Not long ago, I found myself involved behind the scenes in a squabble between the chair of my department and another department colleague. Their disagreement was about the proper interpretation of the Faculty Handbook on an issue related to my colleague’s upcoming promotion case. Both asked me, as a former department chair, to offer my opinion. I felt that my colleague’s interpretation, based on a charitable “spirit of the law” reading of the relevant portion of the handbook, made more... Read more

2020-10-12T20:07:02-04:00

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.

Will We Be Able to Move Past Polarization?

Last updated on: October 12, 2020 at 8:07 pm By Vance Morgan

During the past week, I have observed two people get into trouble on Facebook for being open-minded. First, my son attracted a good deal of ire from various folks for daring to wish Donald Trump and his wife a speedy recovery from Covid-19. My son is a vocal and frequent critic of Trump, and is second to none in his visceral loathing of the President. But that did not prohibit him (due to good home training, I’m sure) from hoping... Read more

2020-10-12T10:36:40-04:00

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.

All Things are Become New: A reminder of why teaching is the best profession of all

Last updated on: October 12, 2020 at 10:36 am By Vance Morgan

I realized this morning that exactly seven years ago, the beautiful humanities building on our campus was dedicated. Time definitely flies when you are having fun. As the director at the time of the large interdisciplinary program that is housed in this building, I was asked to give a few remarks from the faculty for the auspicious event. As I read my remarks this morning, I was grateful to be reminded, in this challenging and confusing times for teachers (as... Read more

Development of Western Civilization

Development of Western Civilization

2020-10-11T06:40:31-04:00

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 Gospel According to Marilynne Robinson

Last updated on: October 11, 2020 at 6:40 am By Vance Morgan

This is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give it. Marilynne Robinson, Gilead One of the highlights of my week during the academic year for the past several years has been “MacPhails at 4.” MacPhails is the small pub-style gathering spot on our campus, named after a beloved Dominican priest who served as the associate vice president for student services for many years at the college. Every Friday at 4:00 pm, several members of the faculty... Read more

2020-10-08T06:30:14-04:00

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.

Bombing Raids and a Spark of the Divine

Last updated on: October 8, 2020 at 6:30 am By Vance Morgan

Perhaps a novel whose main character is the squadron leader for World War II bombing raids over Germany was not the best reading material while flying from Charleston, SC to Philadelphia on the way back home to Providence last January. But that’s what I found myself doing sitting in first class (the $70 for the upgrade was more than worth it). As it turned out, my round trip to South Carolina to see my son and daughter-in-law run in a... Read more

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