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

Old Testament

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

November 2020

November 14, 2020

Don’t Make Me Come Down There

As is the case with many of the things in my life, my knowledge of...

November 10, 2020

Hope: The Thing with Feathers

During his first speech as the new President-elect last Saturday evening, Joe Biden quoted lines...

October 2020

October 06, 2020

On Earth, as it is in Heaven: Why Faith is Always Political

Last Sunday, it was my turn to be lector at church. The reading from the...

October 01, 2020

Take a Deep Breath

Jeanne and I did not watch the presidential "debate" on Tuesday evening, choosing instead to...

September 2020

September 24, 2020

Karl Marx and the Parable of the Vineyard Owner

My college campus is in the middle of a (hopefully) temporary lockdown, due to a...

September 20, 2020

WTF Is This??–A story about change

Organized religion often is a source of packaged answers and comfortable solutions to important questions...

August 2020

August 27, 2020

Speaking the Truth in a Culture of Lies

Just short of a year ago, I spent a Saturday morning listening to a lecture...

August 04, 2020

What if God Doesn’t Want to be Found?

Summer is a time for catching up on my non-philosophy reading and finding new authors....

August 02, 2020

How Would YOU Feed a Party of Five Thousand?

My youngest son was always the inquisitive sort, the kind of kid who, from the...

July 2020

July 30, 2020

When a Child of the Universe Dies

One of the few bright spots during the past months of COVID-19 seclusion and insanity...

July 21, 2020

Roofs, Vineyards, and the Kingdom of Heaven

Last Wednesday, after three delays (one our fault, two their fault), our house got a...

July 16, 2020

Donald Trump, Roger Stone, and the Difference Between Pardoning and Forgiving

With Donald Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone’s prison sentence last week, we are reminded once...

July 03, 2020

“There Shall be None to Make Him Afraid”–An Independence Day Reflection

Every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall...

June 2020

June 28, 2020

Death is Not Optional

I’ve been thinking a lot about end of life issues lately. Really. They seem to...

May 2020

May 20, 2020

What if God isn’t Perfect?

One of the central units in my General Ethics class is titled “Does ethics have...

May 02, 2020

Sheep in the Streets: A Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday

As horrific and tragic as most Covid-19 stories are, every once in a while these...

April 2020

April 30, 2020

We are Nothing but Wind

I am not a complainer by nature. My wife, my family, and my friends would...

April 23, 2020

Jesus, Cleopas, and George Have a Conversation About Hope

“Now abide faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.” These words...

March 2020

March 29, 2020

Step back, be quiet, and be at peace

My friend Mitch, who is the priest-in-charge at the Episcopal church I attend, has asked...

March 11, 2020

The Gospel in a Nutshell

Sports fans old enough to remember the 70s and 80s will recall that a regular...

February 2020

February 23, 2020

A Lesson from Transfiguration Sunday: Stop, Look, and Listen–but don’t touch

Today is the last Sunday before Lent, a Sunday which, in the liturgical calendar, is...

February 18, 2020

When an Important Memory Turns Out to be Wrong

My youngest son, Justin, has a remarkable memory--for, as he puts it, "totally useless facts."...

February 15, 2020

The Prophet Isaiah Goes to the National Prayer Breakfast

I was the scheduled lector at the 8:00 service last Sunday, the first time I...

February 02, 2020

Idolatry and Abortion

I wrote the essay that follows several months ago; on the advice of some trusted...

January 2020

January 28, 2020

When to Care, and When Not to Care

The only way I can get through the tedium of working out on an aerobic...

January 26, 2020

Staying Sane During the Impeachment Trial

The other day somebody wrote on Twitter that “President Trump is the best president in...

January 23, 2020

Best of 2019 #2: Noah and his Children–Bad News for White Evangelical Christians

Last November, I used a Michael Gerson essay as a jumping off point for a...

January 19, 2020

American Airlines 4395, Bombing Raids Over Germany, and a Spark of the Divine

Perhaps a novel whose main character is the squadron leader for World War II bombing...

January 06, 2020

An Epiphany in Real Time

Yesterday was the Feast of the Epiphany, the first day of the liturgical season that...

December 2019

December 19, 2019

I Will Bring You Home

Baptist preacher’s kids get to do some very odd things. I memorized large portions of...

Related posts from Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

The Lonely Pawn: On Faith, Doubt, and Meaning

Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

AI and Agency

Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

AI and Love: When a Chatbot Becomes a...

Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

AI and Transcendence

Freelance Christianity

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos