As we approach the long anticipated and stress inducing Election Day tomorrow, I looked back over the weekend at what I’ve written for each of the last two elections–both of which were billed, as is this year’s election, as “the most important election of our lifetimes”–and found that both of them were eerily relevant to our current predicament. This one is from eight years ago. At the time I was certain, as were millions of other people, that I knew... Read more
Last Friday was All Saints Day, which is usually celebrated on the first Sunday of November–making today All Saints Sunday. Here’s what I wrote about All Saints Sunday in my book A Year of Faith and Philosophy. I am currently reading through the copyedited manuscript that I received from the publisher ten days or so ago–I’ll be sending it back to them in a couple of days. Typesetting and marketing are next! November 1 is All Saints’ Day; when it falls... Read more
It’s Halloween. Halloween gives me the opportunity to consider my long and checkered past with the Christian faith, as well as why I stay within the Christian tent in spite of what appear to be good reasons to leave. One Sunday, toward the end of a particularly lively and deep seminar with my “Living Stones” adult Christian education group after the morning service, I asked the group “so what makes us think that we are anything special, that Episcopalians have... Read more
Broken windows and empty hallways, a pale dead moon and a sky streaked with gray. Human kindness is overflowing, and I think it’s going to rain today. Randy Newman One week from today is Election Day, although people have been voting for more than a couple of weeks already (Jeanne and I put our ballots in the mail a few days ago) and chances are it will be a fes days (at the very least) after next Tuesday before we... Read more
The lectionary readings from the Jewish scriptures this month have walked us through the Book of Job, concluding today with Job’s response once God finally answers Job’s complaints about how unjustly he has been treated. The dramatic setting of Job is so familiar that it can be summarized in just a few sentences. Job is presented as the most honorable of men, one who “feared God and avoided evil.” He is wealthy, happy, content, and living the good life. Then in... Read more
One of the authors mentioned frequently by participants at Theology Beer Camp last weekend was Walter Rauschbusch, one of the most important theologians of the 20th century and a powerful force in the development of the social gospel movement. I recently wrote about Rauschenbusch on this blog; it was great to encounter any number of people at Beer Camp whose thought has been influenced by his work. Living the Social Gospel In addition to his influential theological work, Rauschenbusch was... Read more
This past weekend I was at a conference in Denver called “Theology Beer Camp.” If academics committed themselves more often to crafting such creative titles for their annual get-togethers, more people would want to go. Theology Beer Camp was a gathering of several hundred progressive/deconstructing theologians from across the country; as I’ve often said, although I’m not a theologian, I could play one on television. Several aspects of the conference were themed to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy;... Read more
Autumn is my favorite season, and October is my favorite month. This is not surprising for a native New Englander—fall weather is the best that the Northeast has to offer and October promises cloudless skies, reducing temperatures, turning leaves, and no humidity. Even though it is rainy as I write this on Indigenous Peoples day, the last few weeks have given us spectacularly beautiful weather. I love it. But those of us fortunate enough to be living the academic life... Read more
I will be receiving the copyedited version of my book A Year of Faith and Philosophy back from my editor in a couple of weeks–copyediting is an important step, since it means that the content of your book has passed editorial muster. The copyeditor is simply the grammar and punctuation Nazi who doesn’t care about the content at all. Since I’ve been doing this for a while and serve as the grammar and punctuation Nazi for my students all the time,... Read more
Today I simply want to share something brief that I heard on a podcast a couple of days ago. Many of us–most, perhaps–are stressed about the upcoming election. In my case, at least, there are byproducts of this stress that don’t “seem like me.” I find myself, for instance, feeling very judgmental toward the millions of people who are just as entrenched in their belief about who must be the next president–but they disagree with me about who that person... Read more
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