New Post on the Park Forum: Back to the Garden of Eden. Read more

My theme for my talks last weekend was “Life with God.” And yet before I could talk about life with God, I had to address the question of God’s existence So, some thoughts on that question, taken from the first talk I gave this past weekend: I’m not planning to mount a defense of the existence of God. Honestly, if there is a God, it is up to God whether we know about Him. For all our arguments, at the... Read more

I’m speaking at a conference this weekend for a group of about 160 people, mostly high school students. And I’m supposed to explain the Christian faith to them over the course of four 20 minute talks. Whatever you believe, it’s a good exercise: how would you explain the way you make sense of the world in terms that make sense to a 16-year old boy? It’s been a good challenge for me. I’m trying to explain what it means to... Read more

A quick response to the Atlantic’s cover article on the Park Forum, here. Read more

Penny and I got into the car to go to the hospital yesterday at noon. Peter buckled her into her seat, kissed her on the forehead, and said, “I’ll see you tonight, beautiful girl.” “Pray, Dad,” she replied. The night before, she had a hard time falling asleep. “Are you afraid, Mom?” “No, sweetie, I’m not afraid. Are you?” “No.” Pause. And then, “I’m scared, Mom.” “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry you’re scared. Do you want to pray?” We prayed for... Read more

I have an essay published in the “On the Square” section of First Things today. It is called “The Reality of Hope.” Here’s the opening paragraph: After she died, it was as if I had broken my arm. A part of me ached all the time, and something that had been functional was now useless, and everything about my daily routine needed to be navigated differently. It was difficult, for instance, to stand in line at the post office or... Read more

I spoke on a panel Friday night for a Women and Spirituality conference. There were three other women on the panel–an Episcopal priest, a Roman Catholic lay leader who is also a counselor, and a woman who was raised Muslim but left the faith after deciding it was too patriarchal. Together, we fielded questions about Mary and goddess worship, the divine feminine, and the gender of God. What it got me thinking about most of all is the power of... Read more

William and Penny and I were taking a walk. William said, “Wa! Wa!” (Watch! Watch!) I complied. Penny took off in the other direction. So I chased her down, plunked her in the stroller next to her brother, and resumed walking. It was about 30 seconds later that I realized William was no longer playing with my watch. We searched the stroller, his clothes, her clothes. I went through my own pockets four times. We traced the path where I... Read more

New post on the Park Forum: Afraid of the Flu? Also a helpful comment on there about the science involved. And, incidentally, I got the flu shot and so will our kids. Just not planning to panic if they get sick… Read more

New post on the Park Forum. Read more