If you are fond of a cup, say “I am fond of a cup!” For then when it is broken you will not be upset. Epictetus Every time I teach the Stoics, I am reminded of how full their philosophy is of “Well, duh!!” truths. That’s a compliment. As a philosophy professor, I rely on such truths when trying to hook students into a discipline that can often be—as Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor accused Jesus of being—“vague, exceptional, and enigmatic.” Every... Read more
I have a good friend and teaching colleague who told me the other day that another colleague revealed in conversation that I have denied the resurrection on this blog. That’s not true—although I have occasionally said that the historical details of what happened at the nativity and Easter are not nearly as important as the difference that those stories make in the daily lives of those who claim to believe them to be true. Although my friend did not reveal... Read more
I just finished a lovely week with my brother Vaughn and sister-in-law LaVona in Santa Fe, a trip I’m sure that will be showing up in posts and pictures here for the rest of the summer and beyond. Santa Fe has a special place in both Jeanne’s and my history. I spent four years in the seventies earning my Bachelor’s degree at St. John’s College in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains; Jeanne and I spent the first... Read more
Twenty years ago I spent Father’s Day in Cuba, part of a trip that changed my perspective on many things. I described my experiences in my article entitled “Shattering the Myths About Cuba,” included in one of my college’s publications in the Spring of 2004 . . . The story is told that Augustine used to get annoyed at his students when, as he pointed toward something that he wished them to consider, they focused their attention on his finger... Read more
In our never-ending search for excellent police dramas, Jeanne and I watched the first season of “The Wall” this past week. In French with subtitles (something we don’t normally do), the series is set in Fermont, Quebec, a mining town located in subartic landscape hundreds of miles northeast of Quebec City and Montreal, just a few miles from the Labrador border. I’ve already noticed that the second season (of three) of the series is set in Quebec City, one of... Read more
In our three years in Milwaukee, our first years together as a married couple trying to cobble a functional stepfamily together, Jeanne and I set our radio alarm to NPR, which would awaken us every morning at six o’clock. The early show was classical music, hosted by a local public radio fixture with the comforting and dulcet tones of an educated uncle. As we emerged into the day from sleep, the host would provide a brief weather report before queuing... Read more
Are you into Enneagrams? Over the past few years I have heard people throwing their Enneagram number around in general conversation with more and more regularity, in much the same way that people have shared their Myer-Briggs four-letter personality fingerprint for decades. The Enneagram diagram has always looked New-Agey with a shade of witchcraft to me, and I solidly identify with my Myer-Briggs INFJness, so I’ve never felt the need to take yet another serious personality test. But a few... Read more
Three summers ago, after three delays (one our fault, two their fault), our house got a new hat. We had known for a couple of years that our roof needed to be replaced. We bought the house 27 years ago; the roof had been replaced the year before we purchased the house, so this was a first-time experience for us. Upon hearing about the event, a friend posted on Facebook that getting a new roof is like getting new tires... Read more
So here we are in Ordinary Time, the longest liturgical season that will stretch until the Sunday after Thanksgiving when Advent begins. I noted in my Trinity Sunday essay a couple of days ago that for several reasons this has never been my favorite stretch of the liturgical calendar. But I recall someone in the Living Stones discussion group saying last year at this time that in a post-Covid19 world, “ordinary” seems more attractive than usual. A few years ago,... Read more
It’s Trinity Sunday. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to explain that very strange Christian doctrine—the one that has caused non-Christians over the centuries to occasionally accuse Christians, who claim to be monotheists, of being polytheists. In my youth, none of the things I was supposed to believe as a budding Christian was more confusing than the Trinity. I was familiar with “3-in-One Oil,” but this seemed different. “Think about an egg,” my Sunday School teacher suggested. “The egg... Read more
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