Light is Born of Darkness

Last updated on: December 13, 2023 at 2:10 pm By Vance Morgan

During Advent season, John the Baptist gets a lot of play. This makes sense, since Christians view him as a forerunner of Jesus, the sort of person who should take center stage during the season that anticipates the Incarnation. In their respective gospels, Mark and John give John the Baptist center stage from the outset, beginning their narratives with John’s ministry and activities while not even bothering to mention Jesus’ birth. Mark’s version was last week’s gospel; today it’s John’s turn.... Read more

Truth is Too Fragile to be Chanted on the Street

Last updated on: December 13, 2023 at 1:24 pm By Vance Morgan

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There is a saying attributed to Saint Francis that I have heard frequently in more than three decades as a non-Catholic professor in Catholic higher education: Preach the Gospel—use words if necessary. If you google the statement, the items at the top of the search results are mostly attempts to establish that despite the popularity of the attribution, Francis never said this. Not only did he not say it, some deniers argue, it would be misleading and problematic if he... Read more

God Is On The Journey Too

Last updated on: December 12, 2023 at 8:32 am By Vance Morgan

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Two of the contemporary authors whose insights on faith and spirituality challenge me the most in fruitful ways both have spent years afflicted with cancer. Kate Bowler is an associate professor of the history of Christianity in North America at Duke Divinity School; she burst onto the national scene with her 2018 book Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved), a memoir that a reviewer calls “A meditation on sense-making when there’s no sense to be made,... Read more

An Outline of “Nice Work If You Can Get It”

Last updated on: December 9, 2023 at 12:44 pm By Vance Morgan

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I am currently starting the process of finding a literary agent for the teaching memoir that has been the primary focues of my soon-to-be-over sabbatical. A few blog readers have been asking me questions about the book–here is an annotated outline of the book (the sort of thing literary agents and prospective publishers always want to see). Let me know if this strikes you as a book you would want to read! Nice Work If You Can Get It: Stories... Read more

No Perception is Immaculate

Last updated on: December 8, 2023 at 9:56 am By Vance Morgan

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I have taught philosophy in Catholic higher education for more that thirty years as a non-Catholic. Although I have become accustomed to any number of Catholic commitments and beliefs that are far outside the parameters of the Protestant Christianity in which I was raised, few of these beliefs are more “out there” than the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. I have found that many—perhaps most—of my predominantly Catholic students believe, incorrectly, that the doctrine applies to virgin birth of Jesus.... Read more

The Punctuation of the Spirit

Last updated on: December 1, 2023 at 3:00 pm By Vance Morgan

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I was on retreat when I wrote this, a fitting capstone to my sabbatical that will be ending before long. I brought five books along with me, one mystery novel and four works of non-fiction of various sorts. One of the non-fiction books is Pádraig Ó Tuama’s In the Shelter. Ó Tuama is an Irish poet, theologian, and conflict resolution specialist of whom I had heard obliquely because of his partnership with Krista Tippett and On Being. In the last... Read more

Bagpipes, Cats, and Saint Andrew

Last updated on: December 1, 2023 at 2:59 pm By Vance Morgan

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Last Thursday was Saint Andrew’s Day; I was reminded beause my Scottish friend Craig posted about it on Facebook. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and Craig is the most Scottish person I know. We haven’t seen each other in over two decades, but were colleagues in the phiilosophy department for a few years during my first decade at the college before he moved on to different things. Everything I know about single malt scotch whisky (which is quite... Read more

An Advent Lesson: It’s Okay to be Human

Last updated on: December 3, 2023 at 8:13 am By Vance Morgan

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In Philosophical Fragments, Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard tells a lovely story about a powerful king who falls in love with a lowly maiden. The maiden is unaware of the king’s love, and the king is worried. Knowing that love is built on equality, how is the gap between his royal greatness and her humble maidenhood to be crossed? He does not want to coerce her into loving him by revealing his love in all of its splendor, nor would elevating her to... Read more

A Poem for You

Last updated on: November 29, 2023 at 8:15 pm By Vance Morgan

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I am retreat this week at Ender’s Island south of Mystic, CT. So far my primary text has been Pádraig Ó Tuama’s In the Shelter, a beautiful memoir that is a mix of poetry and stunning prose. For today, here is his poem “Collect.” It spoke to me–I trust it will speak to you as well. Collect God of watching, whose gaze I doubt and rally against both, but in which I take refuge, despite my limited vision. Shelter me today,... Read more

Making Christmas Wild Again

Last updated on: November 26, 2023 at 12:17 pm By Vance Morgan

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Just when you thought you had heard and read it all . . . “If Jesus was back among us, he’d be a law-abiding gun owner. He’d support the Police. And he’d say “Merry Christmas” not “Happy Holidays.” This piece of wisdom and insight was shared around this time a few years ago on the site formely known as Twitter by Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman turned conservative talk-show host. A number of creative responses were immediately forthcoming, including... Read more