What Is This? A story about change

Last updated on: July 31, 2024 at 12:50 pm By Vance Morgan

Organized religion often is a source of packaged answers and comfortable solutions to important questions about God and ourselves. Oneof today’s lectionary reading options from the Jewish scriptures is one of my favorites.. It suggests that eventually such answers and solutions must be left behind. In Exodus, the Israelites (who were miraculously delivered from the pursuing Egyptian armies by the parting of the Red Sea a few chapters earlier), are complaining. And with good reason, because they are hungry in... Read more

The Dangers of Unexamined Faith

Last updated on: August 2, 2024 at 2:53 pm By Vance Morgan

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He lived over two millennia ago, and as far as we know he never wrote anything. We learn everything we know about him from others, often in reports and descriptions written decades after his death. The reliability and accuracy of these reports are often called into question, since their authors clearly have agendas and interests that undermine objectivity and an accurate accounting of the facts. He had a lot to say and attracted many followers who hung on his every... Read more

Memories of Olympics Past

Last updated on: July 29, 2024 at 4:25 pm By Vance Morgan

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It often is a surprise to those who know that I am a college professor to learn that I am also a sports fanatic. In truth, the most rabid sports fans I know are some of my academic colleagues—we talk trash about our favorite teams and athletes with the same energy you might find at any sports bar; indeed, we often have such arguments while drinking adult beverages. My own sports addictions have become selective as I get older, now... Read more

Jesus Caters a Very Large Picnic

Last updated on: July 27, 2024 at 8:02 am By Vance Morgan

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Today’s gospel is the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, one of the few Jesus stories that makes it into all four gospels. Here’s the section in my new book A Year of Faith and Philosophy that addresses this miracle. The Ordinary Time 10 Year A and B gospel is one of Jesus’ most famous miracles: the feeding of the five thousand. This miracle is reported in all four of the canonical gospels which, for once, pretty much agree... Read more

A Young Woman Confronts Her Inherent Racism

Last updated on: July 25, 2024 at 4:03 pm By Vance Morgan

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It’s been a crazy week, hasn’t it? I have deliberately avoided going political on this blog for some time, but I suspect I may have a diffficult time sticking to that in the coming weeks. The presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency is a woman of color (gasp), an accomplished woman with prosecuting attorney, attorney general of the most populous state in the country, senator of that same state, and Vice President of the United States in her resume. Yet... Read more

When a Word is a Complete Sentence

Last updated on: July 22, 2024 at 4:20 pm By Vance Morgan

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All of us live in a world filled with words. For academics, words are the tools of our trade. Even for introverted academics such as I am, the tendency both verbally and in writing is to think that the more words one uses, the better. One of the most difficult things I’ve had to learn during the decade-plus of writing this blog is how to be concise and how to introduce, develop, and complete an idea in no more than... Read more

Okay, fine. I’m a heretic.

Last updated on: July 20, 2024 at 1:08 pm By Vance Morgan

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I’ve spent significant time over the past fourteen or fifteen months immersed in the Bible. I’ve often said and written that I was brainwashed in the Bible as a youth, so I’ll put my knowledge of and familiarity with scripture up against most anyone’s (except those whose job it is to be buried in the Bible all the time (priests, pastors, theologians, etc.). But this is different. I began assembling material for a book tentatively called A Freelance Christian’s Guide to... Read more

On its way to the publisher!

Last updated on: July 18, 2024 at 4:35 pm By Vance Morgan

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On Monday I will be sending the final manuscript of A Year of Faith and Philosophy: Exploring Spiritual Growth Through the Liturgical Cycle (three weeks ahead of the deadline I might add!) to my editor at Church Publishing. I will be sending it digitally, of course–the hard copy is just for my own pleasure. For those unfamiliar with the proces of book publishing, here’s what comes next: After reading the manuscript, my editor will send questions and/or suggested editorial changes.... Read more

Growing old together: An anniversary reflection

Last updated on: July 17, 2024 at 7:06 am By Vance Morgan

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Thirty-six years ago today, two early thirty-somethings stood in front of their four parents and exchanged promises; the groom’s father was an ordained minister, so the promises exchanged were official. It was a quickly organized, impromptu event because the groom’s mother was dying of cancer and might not live to experience the real, full-blown wedding planned for a year or so down the road. That wedding never happened. The groom’s mother died less than three months later, followed unexpectedly by... Read more

You might be a Bible-worshipper if . . .

Last updated on: July 16, 2024 at 7:50 am By Vance Morgan

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Regular readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of “The Chosen,” a multi-year cinematic treatment of the life of Jesus that is currently filming the fifth of a projected seven seasons. The fourth season ends with Jesus riding a donkey toward Jerusalem, followed by the men and women who have become part of his inner circle entourage (including a number of women). Like all dedicated fans of “The Chosen,” Jeanne and I cannot wait for season... Read more