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Progressive Christian

2020-06-14T08:10:02-04:00

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.

What Does Life Expect of Me?

Last updated on: June 14, 2020 at 8:10 am By Vance Morgan

Over the years, a typical scenario has unfolded when I meet someone for the first time. “What do you do?” I am asked. “I’m a college professor.” “Oh wow! What do you teach?” “Philosophy.” At that point, one of three things happens: “Say something philosophical,” my new acquaintance demands. I generally say something like “When a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, there isn’t any sound (pause), except for the times that there is.” That’s usually... Read more

2020-06-09T14:22:23-04:00

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.

God Doesn’t Own Us . . . God Loves Us

Last updated on: June 9, 2020 at 2:22 pm By Vance Morgan

If you got to choose the manner of your death, what would your choice be? In his Essais, Michel de Montaigne encourages his readers to take ownership of the freedom each of us has concerning our demise: Why do you complain of this world? It does not hold you: if you live in pain, your cowardice is the cause; to die all that is needed is the will . . . The most voluntary death is the fairest . . .... Read more

2020-06-09T14:04:44-04:00

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.

Interfaith Travel, and a Reminder that No One Owns God

Last updated on: June 9, 2020 at 2:04 pm By Vance Morgan

There are several contemporary writers on spiritual issues and matters of faith whose work I admire so greatly I that purchase their latest books as soon as they are published—I have my Amazon account set up to send me such “heads up” announcements. These are authors whose books never fail to both deepen and broaden my own perspectives and attitudes about faith and what is greater than me. The list includes Anne Lamott, Joan Chittister, Annie Dillard, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Lauren... Read more

2020-06-09T08:25:58-04:00

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.

I Got the Little Red Haired Girl–and it’s her birthday!

Last updated on: June 9, 2020 at 8:25 am By Vance Morgan

It’s Jeanne’s birthday today! It is my blog custom on her birthday to post a reflection on how we met and how lucky I am. Some of you have read this one–if so, enjoy it again! If not, meet my beautiful partner! Please join me in celebrating my favorite person’s natal day! A staple of my early years was the “Peanuts” comic strip. That doesn’t make me unusual—I don’t recall anyone in my circle of family and friends unaware of... Read more

2020-06-05T15:17:50-04:00

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.

Celebrating Life in Difficult Times: Some Thoughts on Trinity Sunday

Last updated on: June 5, 2020 at 3:17 pm By Vance Morgan

It’s Trinity Sunday. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to explain that very strange Christian doctrine—the one that has caused non-Christians over the centuries to occasionally accuse Christians, who claim to be monotheists, of being polytheists. In my youth, none of the things I was supposed to believe as a budding Christian was more confusing than the Trinity. I was familiar with “3-in-One Oil,” but this seemed different. “Think about an egg,” my Sunday School teacher suggested. “The egg... Read more

2020-06-04T17:17:38-04:00

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.

From Solitude to God

Last updated on: June 4, 2020 at 5:17 pm By Vance Morgan

The building looked like the love child of a logic problem and a crossword puzzle. Richard Powers, Orfeo Summer is the time that I catch up on non-work-related reading. My usual procedure is, first, to find out whether any of my two dozen or so favorite novelists have published anything recently. I’ve met with some success this week (and have accordingly placed some orders on Amazon), but was disappointed to discover that Richard Powers hasn’t published anything new in the... Read more

2020-06-02T15:30:05-04:00

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.

God and Darwin have a conversation about diversity

Last updated on: June 2, 2020 at 3:30 pm By Vance Morgan

A number of years ago, during a public forum on my campus focused on steps we might take toward addressing the fact that we had a blindingly white student body, faculty, and administration, one of my senior faculty colleagues raised his hand and asked the question that a number of people in the room were probably wondering, but didn’t have the guts to ask: Why do we want to have a diverse campus? Despite its serious violation of all standards of... Read more

2020-06-01T06:30:49-04:00

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.

Riots in the Streets: It’s a Classic Teaching Moment, and I’ve Got Nothing

Last updated on: June 1, 2020 at 6:30 am By Vance Morgan

On Facebook a couple of days ago, I posted this: It’s times like these that help me understand what was going on in Yahweh’s mind when he, on several occasions in the Jewish scriptures, planned to wipe out humanity (or a problematic group of humans) and start over again. I really wish I was in the middle of a semester right now. The confluence of Covid-19, the murder of George Floyd, and the subsequent protests and riots throughout the country... Read more

2020-05-31T07:21:48-04:00

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.

A Pentecost Reflection: Sometimes Fast Food Isn’t Good Enough

Last updated on: May 31, 2020 at 7:21 am By Vance Morgan

Pentecost celebrates one of the high points in the Christian liturgical calendar, the coming of the Holy Spirt “as a mighty wind,” accompanied by tongues of fire and various miracles, that is commonly referred to as “the birth of the church.” For Christians, it arguably ranks just after Easter and Christmas in terms of historical markers of the divine’s interaction with humanity. But this year, Pentecost is different—as everything else has been different for the past many weeks. When I... Read more

2020-05-27T16:43:29-04:00

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.

Pursue the Truth, and Run Like Hell from Anyone Who Claims to Have It

Last updated on: May 27, 2020 at 4:43 pm By Vance Morgan

I am currently in the middle of reading Sue Monk Kidd’s new novel, The Book of Longings. I purchased it for Jeanne for Mother’s Day, and it was a home run as a gift. Jeanne devoured it in just a few days, regularly commenting on what a great book it is and how much I would love it. The premise of the novel is simple, and might be shocking to the more theologically conservative: What if Jesus was married? The... Read more

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