“Political Jesus”: Yes, those words belong together

Last updated on: October 21, 2020 at 10:31 am By Vance Morgan

In a recent interview, Union Theological Seminary president Serene Jones said that “If you really believe this stuff about grace, if you really believe God loves everybody and the world, and forgives, ultimately, in mercy, everybody, it profoundly affects your politics.” Theology is always political. As we speed toward the Presidential election and its aftermath, there is no better time to consider the political implications of one’s faith. In a well-known and often-quoted passage from the Jewish scriptures, the prophet... Read more

The Soul is Not a Thing, but it Most Certainly is Real

Last updated on: October 19, 2020 at 9:27 am By Vance Morgan

As a philosophy professor, I have the opportunity in just about every class to investigate, along with my students, human nature. What exactly are we? What makes us different from everything else that exists? Huge questions, of course, all tangled up with assumptions, experiences, and—in many instances—religious belief. To set the stage for human nature discussions, I often rely on my students’ intuitive reactions to the following definition of “human being”: A human being is a physical thing, plus something... Read more

When God Gives Us the Bird

Last updated on: October 17, 2020 at 9:32 pm By Vance Morgan

I get myself in trouble on this blog occasionally, often deliberately. I know that most of my regular readers are people of like mind on matters of faith, politics, life, and just about everything I write about. But I’m always glad when a comment on the blog or social media lets me know that I’ve touched a nerve that someone would just as soon not have anyone touch. The other day, in a conversation with someone who had dropped a... Read more

Don’t Read the Constitution like Literalists Read the Bible

Last updated on: October 15, 2020 at 2:50 pm By Vance Morgan

Not long ago, I found myself involved behind the scenes in a squabble between the chair of my department and another department colleague. Their disagreement was about the proper interpretation of the Faculty Handbook on an issue related to my colleague’s upcoming promotion case. Both asked me, as a former department chair, to offer my opinion. I felt that my colleague’s interpretation, based on a charitable “spirit of the law” reading of the relevant portion of the handbook, made more... Read more

Will We Be Able to Move Past Polarization?

Last updated on: October 12, 2020 at 8:07 pm By Vance Morgan

During the past week, I have observed two people get into trouble on Facebook for being open-minded. First, my son attracted a good deal of ire from various folks for daring to wish Donald Trump and his wife a speedy recovery from Covid-19. My son is a vocal and frequent critic of Trump, and is second to none in his visceral loathing of the President. But that did not prohibit him (due to good home training, I’m sure) from hoping... Read more

All Things are Become New: A reminder of why teaching is the best profession of all

Last updated on: October 12, 2020 at 10:36 am By Vance Morgan

I realized this morning that exactly seven years ago, the beautiful humanities building on our campus was dedicated. Time definitely flies when you are having fun. As the director at the time of the large interdisciplinary program that is housed in this building, I was asked to give a few remarks from the faculty for the auspicious event. As I read my remarks this morning, I was grateful to be reminded, in this challenging and confusing times for teachers (as... Read more

The Gospel According to Marilynne Robinson

Last updated on: October 11, 2020 at 6:40 am By Vance Morgan

This is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give it. Marilynne Robinson, Gilead One of the highlights of my week during the academic year for the past several years has been “MacPhails at 4.” MacPhails is the small pub-style gathering spot on our campus, named after a beloved Dominican priest who served as the associate vice president for student services for many years at the college. Every Friday at 4:00 pm, several members of the faculty... Read more

Bombing Raids and a Spark of the Divine

Last updated on: October 8, 2020 at 6:30 am By Vance Morgan

Perhaps a novel whose main character is the squadron leader for World War II bombing raids over Germany was not the best reading material while flying from Charleston, SC to Philadelphia on the way back home to Providence last January. But that’s what I found myself doing sitting in first class (the $70 for the upgrade was more than worth it). As it turned out, my round trip to South Carolina to see my son and daughter-in-law run in a... Read more

On Earth, as it is in Heaven: Why Faith is Always Political

Last updated on: October 5, 2020 at 6:16 am By Vance Morgan

Last Sunday, it was my turn to be lector at church. The reading from the Jewish scriptures was as basic as they come—the Decalogue. Any reading from scripture that begins with the words “Then God spoke all these words” is a bit intimidating, but channeling my best imitations of Cecil B. DeMille, James Earl Jones, and Morgan Freeman, I dove in. To be honest, my attention has always been drawn most strongly to what the people of Israel say when... Read more

It’s Blessing of the Animals Sunday . . . but who is really getting the blessing?

Last updated on: October 4, 2020 at 7:29 am By Vance Morgan

Today is Blessing of the Animals Sunday, which this year is bittersweet for me. My beloved dachshund Frieda died two years ago; for several years she accompanied me to the reader’s lectern at church for Blessing of the Animals Sunday as I read the story of Balaam and his ass from Numbers. My friend and confidant Marsue, an Episcopal priest who loved Saint Francis, and for whom Blessing of the Animals was a bigger liturgical event than Easter or Christmas,... Read more