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May 2019

May 17, 2019

Scottish Sheep are Waterproof, and other takeaways from Good Shepherd Sunday

One of my prized possessions, purchased when Jeanne and I on vacation last June in...

May 14, 2019

Are Evangelical Christians Discriminated Against? The Dangers of Tribal Christianity

Last week, a Christianity Today article reported that "Half of Americans Say Evangelicals are Discriminated Against." www.christianitytoday.com

May 07, 2019

Why Did Jesus Like Little Children So Much?

One of the stories that was emphasized regularly in the Baptist Sunday school of my...

May 02, 2019

Does Everything Happen for a Reason? I don’t think so

During the last seminar of the semester in one of my classes this week, my...

April 2019

April 30, 2019

Come Holy Goose

According to the reading from John’s gospel at church a couple of days ago, one...

April 27, 2019

Why Doubt Is My Favorite Virtue

The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty Anne Lamott In the lectionary, the Second...

April 21, 2019

Now I See You: An Easter Reflection

Easter Sunday--the most triumphant day on the Christian liturgical calendar. According to New Testament scholar...

April 18, 2019

Staying Awake: A Holy Thursday Reflection

Some people can sleep anywhere. One of those people was a student in one of...

April 16, 2019

Is the Time of Religion Over?

What is bothering me incessantly is the question of what Christianity really is, or indeed...

April 12, 2019

Why Christianity is a Mundane Religion

“What’s the difference between chili con carne and chili con queso?” I ask my freshman...

April 10, 2019

Remembering What Matters Most

The sea pronounces something, over and over, in a hoarse whisper. I cannot quite make...

March 2019

March 27, 2019

What Goes Down . . . Must Come Back Up

Today's Psalm invited us to go to the mountain of the Lord–which reminded me of...

March 21, 2019

The GOATs of the Western Tradition

The beautiful Ruane Center for the Humanities on our campus opened in the Fall of 2013,...

March 13, 2019

My Love/Hate Relationship with the Fourth Member of the Trinity

Twenty-five years ago last month, I interviewed at Providence College for a tenure-track position in...

March 10, 2019

Lifting the Fog from Faith

What we call doubt is often simply dullness of mind and spirit, not the absence...

March 06, 2019

On My Birthday, Here Are Some Things That I Know Are True

Today is my birthday, so I ask for your indulgence. Our culture tends to assume...

February 2019

February 26, 2019

Forgiveness with No Boundaries

As we drove home from a lovely two-day celebration of our twenty-fifth anniversary several years...

February 24, 2019

Does Christianity Call for Perfection or Slight Improvement?

I have the privilege of giving the homily this morning at Trinity Episcopal Church in...

February 21, 2019

A Year After Parkland: Do Guns in the Classroom Make Sense?

Valentine's Day last week marked the first anniversary of the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas...

February 17, 2019

An Excuse Not To Think

I recently read the following observations: They weren’t such bad fellows. He had mixed with...

February 12, 2019

The Most Important Lesson from the Sermon on the Mount: Don’t be a Jerk

In his lovely little book Wishful Thinking, Frederick Buechner suggests that what we often dismiss as...

February 10, 2019

What Can We Do Now That There Is No God?

Several weeks into the new year, I am for the first time getting to teach...

February 06, 2019

Is Christianity a System of Belief or a Way of Life?

I have been accused frequently over the past several weeks by commenters on my blog...

January 2019

January 30, 2019

Sacred Spaces and Dunkin Donuts

I currently am working my way slowly through Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography of Leonardo da...

January 29, 2019

“You are the Man”: Speaking Truth to Power

Not long ago, my wife Jeanne decided to audit a graduate theology course on campus...

January 24, 2019

Creating the World in the Classroom

Imagine a jigsaw puzzle, a thousand pieces or more. There is no box showing what...

January 20, 2019

I am Deeply Offended that Mike Pence is Deeply Offended

There are so many things that Vice President Mike Pence could be deeply offended by....

January 17, 2019

Know Your Bible, and Know Your Greek Mythology

During summer orientation for freshmen, I often help the director of the Honors Program on...

December 2018

December 13, 2018

Did Jesus Ever Say “I’m Sorry”?

A popular Christian writer got herself in trouble not long ago by suggesting on Twitter...

December 04, 2018

The Taming of Christmas, and How to Make it Wild Again

Just when you thought you had heard and read it all . . . "If...

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