It all started with a conversation I was having with my good friend the other day.  She mentioned a post from a former student she had seen on Facebook:  the student was asking for prayers for their family as their young child had just been diagnosed with Rett syndrome. I had never heard of it,…… Continue reading Growth-Attenuation Therapy: A Theological View

H. L. Mencken once defined Puritanism as “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”  In her book, “Walking a Literary Labyrinth,” Nancy Malone uses this quote to remind us how so many Christians associate religion and spirituality with “asceticism, duty, hard work, suffering, earnestness of purpose, solemnity, and only occasionally with gladness, delight.”Malone…… Continue reading Wasting Time for God

The May 13th issue of The Chronicle Review had a very interesting piece titled “Two Spirits of Liberty.”  The article discussed two very, very different personalities:  firebrand author and social critic Christopher Hitchens, and the liberal philosopher Isaiah Berlin.  It begins with the excoriation Hitchens made of Berlin after his death, arguing that Berlin was “simultaneously pompous…… Continue reading Two Spirits of Liberty: Balancing Courage and Tolerance

If you haven’t seen this video yet, you need to–#MoreThanMean.  But, be warned:  you aren’t going to like it.  The language is brutal, and the “c” word figures prominently–and I don’t mean “cancer.”  Maybe you have heard about it before–it went up on YouTube at the end of April:  ordinary guys come in and sit…… Continue reading #MoreThanMean

Last night I finally got through the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, “the joy of love,” and I wanted to share some reflections.  To be clear, there are many more people more qualified than I to make official theological pronouncements about this particular document, specifically how it resonates within the broader field of Catholic theology. …… Continue reading Reflections on Amoris Laetitia: I read it so you don’t have to

If you don’t live in Gettysburg, you might imagine that a small town in Adams County Pennsylvania wouldn’t have much to offer by way of religious diversity.  And, if you compare Gettysburg to a place like Washington D.C., or even Harrisburg, you would be right.  But, in addition to other factors, the presence of both…… Continue reading A "Model" Seder

Back on February 24th, 2014, I wrote a post on the Arizona “religious freedom bill,” which was vetoed by the governor two days later.  Now, two years later, we find ourselves somehow in the same situation, except that both the North Carolina and Mississippi governors have signed similar bills into law.  Just to be clear,…… Continue reading True Christian Freedom vs. "Religious" Freedom

It’s Easter Monday, and I’m tired!  I’m not working in a congregation, so I shouldn’t complain, but in the last four days, I attended two Maundy Thursday services, two Good Friday services, one Easter Vigil and one Easter morning service.  They all were fabulous, and it was a wonderful weekend, but it all has left…… Continue reading Wise Words from Gloria Steinem

Something extraordinary is happening on Friday:  this year, the date of Good Friday is March 25th, which also is the traditional date of the annunciation and thus the date of Jesus’ conception.  [I like to think it occurred at the moment of Mary’s “yes” to God.]  I’m unduly excited about this, because I am a…… Continue reading March 25, 2016: The Annunciation and Good Friday

A couple weeks ago, my Monday night book group met to discuss “The Nightingale,” by Kristin Hannah. [It’s a great book, and I highly recommend it.]  Toward the end of the conversation, I raised a question about a significant plot point that concerns a key decision made by one of the main characters–and, here I…… Continue reading The Nightingale, "Sorites" and the Truth