In a recent New York Times article author and philosophy professor Scott Hershovitz lays out the problem of why an all-powerful God would allow suffering to happen at all. He quotes his teenage son who says: “For real, God is pretend, and for pretend, God is real.” That is, we believe in God when it […]

A great deal of ink has been spent on discussing the nature of humanity. It is an important discussion, especially as it relates to creating theology. After all, if we think humanity is depraved and sinful, our understanding of a greater reality will reflect that, such as in the concept of original sin. If we […]

One of the most important considerations in developing a theology is the context in which we search for greater meaning. Where we are — in terms of age, ethnicity, class and location — has everything to do with how we search for and find greater meaning. For most of us, our context is of privileged, […]

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus tells the story of a father who has two sons. The younger son asks for his portion of inheritance from his father, who grants this request. The son then squanders his fortune and eventually becoming destitute. As a consequence, he now must return home empty-handed and intends […]

“Be Curious, Not Judgmental” is a quote often attributed to Walt Whitman. While Whitman did not write those exact words, the truth of this statement might as well be his. In a world that seems so fractured, it is easy to judge the actions of others from the frame of our own reference. Our rush […]

The organ proposal has been withdrawn. I saw and felt the negative impact this was having on our beloved community. I decided to withdraw my support and the Organ Committee agreed. They have withdrawn their proposal. I believe this is the best decision. Sometimes, the very best course of action is to breathe. We all […]

There is so much coming at us right now: the receding pandemic, racial injustice, gender equity, political dysfunction and environmental catastrophe. Couple all this with our lively debate about a new organ, and you might think the world is coming apart… again. But it’s not. This is not the end of the world. This is […]

A story crossed my desk several years ago about a nine year old boy in Memphis TN who lived in his house for over a month with his dead mother. She had died of cancer and the child, not knowing what to do, covered her up, went to school, shopped for food, cooked his meals […]

It’s not that hard to imagine Spring making her arrival in a matter of weeks. Of course, mid-winter thaws always tease us into hope. But hope is a meaning-maker in our lives nonetheless. Thoreau said of these shoulders between seasons, “As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of […]