Thought and Song When revivalists—traveling preachers— would come to my childhood church for a special series of weekend services, they would always come with a song evangelist. The implication I suppose was that singing was as much a part of reviving our souls as was hearing the words of the Bible interpreted to us in a sermon. My dad would get annoyed when the singer would hold out a high note for a long time in an effort to get... Read more
Therefore the mind finds metaphor. … How I see better what is there after sitting quietly with what is not. –Jeanne Murray Walker, “At the Ocean“ The poet is one who makes. It’s right there in the word, poesis, so it’s no use denying it. Poets picks up pieces of language, they give them a new rhythm and resonance, and so make a new meaning. But could the poet also be one who discovers what’s truly there? Does the poet... Read more
The Humility Trap There is a character trap close to the surface of the Christian life. Like most people, Christians honor excellence. We award bravery, generosity, and skill, and appreciate when those awards come to us. We also place a high value on humility. I call this a character trap because of where the tension between excellence and humility can lead. Should I aim to be deserving of honor, and then pretend to think I’m not? False humility collides with... Read more
If the Genesis story is to be believed, the toughest part of being human is accepting limit as gift. That’s how I read the Eden story. God invited them to a long and slow journey toward theosis, the Greek word for growing into God’s image and likeness. But “long” and “slow” are the operative modalities. “Brief” and “immediate” seem so much more attractive to us. “If you eat this, you will be like God…” The Trouble with Limit My limitations are... Read more
This fall Baylor University Press was generous enough to publish my third book, one I call Leaving Emmaus: A New Departure in Christian Theology. Today’s column will give a little introduction to the book for those afflicted—as I am—with too many things to read. I’ll stick with interpreting the title in this 800 word post. Then you can decide whether that makes you want to read the book, or glad you haven’t bothered. A New Departure? That subtitle gave me—and the colleagues... Read more
“I couldn’t paint a Christ that was not in my soul.” -Mikhailov, in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina Though Lev Tolstoy was no great theologian, he was a bold one. Perhaps at times a bit overbold or self-assured, on my reading. I say that not because of his conclusions, but because he rarely shows interest in the theological ideas of… well, anyone whose name is not Tolstoy. Still: bold. Some of his boldest inquiries come in Anna Karenina. That may seem like... Read more
Many, even most, of the Psalms bring the reader to a moment when the energy, emotion, and perspective shifts. Shuv is the Hebrew root. Metanoia in the ancient Greek translation. The moment of a turning. Psalm 64 performs this conversion moment abruptly, like those lawn mowers that advertise a low turning radius. In this case, we were driving toward resentment, then suddenly we’re rejoicing. How did that happen? When Life Merits Resentment Resentment is my word, not the Psalmist’s. But it seems... Read more
Should we prefer the active or the contemplative life? My students and I have been wrestling with that classical theological question this semester in particular. We are educating ourselves about the climate emergency and asking what role theological leaders can play. One thing that we’re noticing is that it can feel like the wrong time for contemplation. In fact, calling it (correctly) an emergency already funds this sense of misspent time. Augustine called contemplation of God the work of “holy... Read more
The Burning Bush There is a burning bush at the heart of all things, Maximus says. (I’m reading “Difficulty 10” again.). If we don’t turn aside to see it, we will walk by and never meet the God who came looking for us in this moment. The good news is that the very next moment offers another invitation. The one who contemplates God, Maximus tells us, unites within herself the two realms, the intelligible and the sensible. Or let’s say the... Read more
What does it mean, Christianly speaking, to have faith? When I was 20 I went on a study abroad trip to Russia, recently reorganized after the collapse of the Soviet empire. I attended several Orthodox churches, all of which presented this Midwestern holiness boy with a strange new world. The first of these Sundays I recall watching a small girl ask her mother to pick her up so she could kiss her favorite icon in the back of the church. ... Read more
The Diagonal Way
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