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Progressive Christian

2020-08-21T11:43:30-04:00

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.

The Big Sister I Always Wanted: Remembering Marsue

Last updated on: August 21, 2020 at 11:43 am By Vance Morgan

Every once in a while, our lives are blessed with a person who uniquely and profoundly spreads peace, love, contentment, and wisdom just by being herself. Marsue Harris was one of those people. She passed away last Saturday after several months of struggling with cancer. She was a friend, mentor, spiritual advisor, reliable source of wisdom, and the big sister I always wished for. Here are a few of my many memories. I met Marsue almost two decades ago, at... Read more

2020-08-19T16:49:07-04:00

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 the Bible is Not the Word of God

Last updated on: August 19, 2020 at 4:49 pm By Vance Morgan

This month marks the eighth anniversary of this blog. It started on WordPress as an outlet for short essays that I had been writing for a couple of years and didn’t know what to do with. Friends and colleagues told me that (1) I needed to get them out into the world and that (2) the best way to do that was to write a blog. I resisted for several months, deciding only to do it after agreeing with myself... Read more

2021-08-30T11:11:26-04:00

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.

What if my “Best Self” isn’t that Good?

Last updated on: August 30, 2021 at 11:11 am By Vance Morgan

My first teaching position was at a small university in Memphis. My department was the “Department of Religion and Philosophy,” housing four theologians and two philosophers. I taught most of the philosophy courses (five classes per semester—that’s a lot, in case you’re wondering); the other philosopher on staff had a reduced teaching load because he was also the Dean of the School of Humanities. Peter was also the most awkwardly, painfully introverted, and shy adult human being I have ever... Read more

2020-12-31T14:54:06-04:00

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.

Leaving Jesusland . . . for good

Last updated on: December 31, 2020 at 2:54 pm By Vance Morgan

I make no secret, on this blog or in person, of my love for Canada. I grew up just forty miles south of Quebec, visted both Montreal and Quebec City at least twice per year every year through high school, have visited those cites many more times and have come to know and love Toronto as an adult, have a number of good friends as well as followers of this blog from Canada . . . Canada is awesome! So,... Read more

2020-08-10T12:35:11-04:00

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.

I’m not a Catholic, but I could play one on TV

Last updated on: August 10, 2020 at 12:35 pm By Vance Morgan

Classes begin on my campus in three weeks. That, in the middle of a pandemic, is enough in itself to cause everyone involved some sleepless nights. But even in “normal” times, the final weeks before the new academic year begins is stressful for professors, as we scramble to complete all of the various tasks and preparations that we have put off all summer. The first reading assignment in the interdisciplinary course that I will be team-teaching with two friends and... Read more

2020-08-08T16:28:34-04:00

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.

Jesus Goes for a Walk–on a lake

Last updated on: August 8, 2020 at 4:28 pm By Vance Morgan

The Sunday gospel readings this summer have recently provided us with some of Jesus’ greatest hits. Last Sunday’s reading was Matthew’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, the only pre-resurrection miracle that is recorded in all four of the canonical gospels. This week’s miracle on tap is Jesus walking on the water, an event that arguably ranks equally in fame with last week’s feeding as among Jesus’ best-known miracles, although Luke doesn’t bother to include the walking on... Read more

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2020-08-05T15:08:38-04:00

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.

Silence is Not Always Golden: Class Participation in a Pandemic

Last updated on: August 5, 2020 at 3:08 pm By Vance Morgan

Classes start on my college campus three weeks from this coming Monday. Let’s just say that things are up in the air at my college, as they are in various ways at all institutions of higher learning across the country. On a daily basis we get updated information about how many students are returning to campus and how many will be taking their classes remotely, how many professors are choosing to teach their classes remotely, as well as who will... Read more

2020-08-09T15:37:49-04:00

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.

What if God Doesn’t Want to be Found?

Last updated on: August 9, 2020 at 3:37 pm By Vance Morgan

Summer is a time for catching up on my non-philosophy reading and finding new authors. I’m a great lover of mysteries; this summer, my new find is Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway mystery series. Set in the Norfolk area of England, the series focuses on Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist who lectures at the local university, and Harry Nelson, a DCI in the local police force. Griffiths is a fine writer, high on atmosphere and character development, relatively restrained when it... Read more

2020-08-01T16:35:44-04:00

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.

How Would YOU Feed a Party of Five Thousand?

Last updated on: August 1, 2020 at 4:35 pm By Vance Morgan

My youngest son was always the inquisitive sort, the kind of kid who, from the moment he began to speak, fashioned most of his communication into questions starting with the word “Why?” The setting for one of his favorite stories is the beat-up car I was driving when he was little; I was running errands and his three-or-four-year-old self was strapped into the car seat next to me on the passenger’s side facing the front. This was, as my good... Read more

2020-07-30T11:26:59-04:00

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 a Child of the Universe Dies

Last updated on: July 30, 2020 at 11:26 am By Vance Morgan

One of the few bright spots during the past months of COVID-19 seclusion and insanity has been observing how non-human nature has continued its usual course through spring and summer, either blissfully ignorant of what we humans are going through or intentionally celebrating a few months free from human interference and damage. So, it was jarring when a college administrator sent an email to the college community a week or so ago indicating that, among the thirteen trees on campus... Read more

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