Since the release of ChatGPT[1] a little over a year ago, many have posed the question: What makes us human? It’s turned over many times in my own mind. Pondering this deeply, I’ve decided that what makes us human is the same as what makes us animal. We may be different from computers in certain important ways, but in those areas of distinction from machines, we are much like non-human animals. I think that’s a wonderful thing! For most of... Read more
“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” ― Barbara Kingsolver In 2017 after Trump became president, I started reading Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism. The book felt chillingly heartbreakingly shatteringly timely. At the moment, many viewed parallels between Trump’s ascendance and historical ascensions of authoritarianism... Read more
I didn’t intend to become a spokesperson for tradition. Of those who know me best, I doubt any would describe me as traditional. But along the way, I’ve become attached to the idea that we need tradition, which some find perplexing as I’m so questioning and critical of my own (Christianity ala Episcopalianism). Last month, two friends asked why I stay. The subtext of the question being: What is the use? As my friends’ questions suggest, tradition is not well... Read more
Of late, I am wooed by Ernest Becker, specifically his book The Denial of Death, published in 1974. A mid-century anthropologist, Becker wrote powerfully about the things that motivate modern people. Our greatest motivation, according to Becker is denying we’re all headed for the grave. On the podcast The Gray Area, Sean Illing summarizes Becker’s work in one concise statement: “The big thesis [of Becker’s work] was that the majority of human behavior is driven by an unconscious desire to... Read more
In the early days of the pandemic, I published an article in a small literary magazine that I called “Fragile.” It was about finding community amid shared fragility, despite the isolation of the time. In many ways, we’re still in the covid era psychologically and spiritually, and most days, national and world events remind me of our common frailty. I wish the themes of this essay were no longer current, yet they seem as current as ever. Here is the... Read more
Of late, some of my closest companions are animals—several cats and one dog. With a few, I am close in ways I am close to few others. Few—or none—of my friends do I kiss and nuzzle and stroke and tell, “I love you so much; you are so precious to me…” (on and on gag infinitum) with regularity. At least in western culture, effusive affection isn’t the language of relationships, apart from those with young children and between couples... Read more
A courageous woman dousing a man’s head with perfume; a conniving betrayer; a feast; jealous officials; an angry mob and disappointing friends; the appearance of law enforcement; a streaker; a humiliation ritual and taunting soldiers; brave women; a crucifixion and mysterious tomb. The Palm Sunday lectionary passage (Mark 14:1-15:47) is thick with drama. The long narrative stands out among ancient tales for its detail and cohesiveness. Before anything else, it is great storytelling. Why have we humans always told stories?... Read more
What is revelation? My definition broadens almost by the day. Sometimes I hear measures of a song so searingly truthful or beautiful they seem like prayer. Or I see a swallow swooping across a dawn-lit sky and the moment of perfection professes to me more than any sacred text. Other times, I read a passage in a book—maybe by George Eliot or Toni Morrison or Henry David Thoreau—that seems as laden with insight as any scripture, and I see the... Read more
Serving threshold congregations is my subject today. By this, I mean small congregations on the cusp of change amid a wider period of ecclesial change in our country. Ecclesial change is just one facet of transition in a time when almost every aspect of our country is in upheaval—cultural, technological, political, environmental. By this point, those of us affiliated with religion are familiar with declining interest in organized religion. Most of us who attend religious services likely notice declining numbers.... Read more
Forgiveness is slow. Have you tried to forgive someone who devastated you with no real regrets? How can we whip up forgiveness like the gods, my fellow mortals, when such things take time? How can we expect forgiveness from others when we apologize with no real regret? In the months following my own devastation by someone I loved, on the heels of a stealthy betrayal, I played with forgiveness. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do when someone apologizes? And... Read more
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