In times of suffering, it’s natural to want to comfort others. It’s admirable, in fact. And it demonstrates a desire to help, to walk alongside of others. It’s also natural to think that drawing comparisons with our own experience is an effective way to do that. After all, it establishes a common bond. It lets people know that we know how they feel. And it says, “You are not alone.” Doesn’t it? In a word, “No”. If our own... Read more
I am not given to conspiracy theories or world-ending fantasies. Between coincidence and widespread mendacity, it is easy to stitch together a series of events and suggest that there is some master design behind it all. By and large, history suggests that the self-appointed masters of the universe are not that smart, not that powerful, and not that good at hiding their attempts at it. As a student of apocalyptic literature with a degree in the stuff, I am also... Read more
I came across an interview with Mark Wahlberg not long ago in which an interviewer asked Wahlberg, “Do your kids think that you are the cool dad?” Wahlberg responded, “No, not at all.” He went on to note that if he could introduce his children to someone that they thought was cool, he might be, for a moment. But, in general, he said, no, if anything, “they might be embarrassed by all of it.” It is not a lengthy video. ... Read more
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:12-17) Living in the south again, Natalie and I are getting back in touch with... Read more
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’” (Luke 14:28-30) Much to the amazement of the men who attend a program that I sponsor, called “Men,... Read more
A prayer for those struggling with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other illnesses that rob us of out connection to others: Understand, my love, I found myself on the tattered edges of memory and expression. They promised our generation endless life, the new forty is fifty, the new fifty is sixty, the future extends endlessly. They didn’t admit that the frontier ahead was frayed and troubled. Bedeviled by the loss of memory and clarity. We will download your memory. Freeze your body... Read more
“Whataboutism” is the relatively new and frequently used trope, offered up in public discourse. It is almost impossible to miss, if you spend any time on social media at all. There are even Whatabout pages on Facebook (though I don’t have the energy or the time to dip into that water). The difficult thing with “Whataboutism” is that it works both as an opening gambit and as a means of forestalling a larger conversation. One can use it first in... Read more
Recently, author Louise Perry summarized some of the thinking that has shaped her new work on the sexual revolution. Her article, published by Bari Weiss is entitled, “I’m 30. The Sexual Revolution Shackled my Generation.” A committed, radical feminist, she backed both the rhetorical and social changes that changed the way we think about sex and – in particular – the way in which women navigated their own sexuality. But, Perry notes, those changes carried with them a hefty price... Read more
Years ago, serving on the senior administrative team of a major seminary, we were pressed by the dean to give him “numbers”. What he meant by this was clear in the context. The seminary was struggling to keep pace enrollment-wise, and he had decided that the solution was to push program directors to promise certain enrollment goals for each of the areas for which we had oversight. It was clear to me from the outset that this was both ill-advised... Read more
A favorite blogger, Aidan Kimel, posted a story describing what he describes as what happens “when ecumenism hits a wall”: In truth, though, the story that Philips tells captures the temperament of contemporary discourse – and not just contemporary theological discourse, but political and social discourse as well. We no longer possess a capacity for difference of opinion and perspective. We no longer acknowledge the inevitability of difference. And we have embraced a willful ignorance of the factors that account... Read more
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