Articles by Rodney Clapp

American Soundings

Back to centered

Apr 25, 2013 by Rodney Clapp

When I cling to anxieties or resentments, my whole body is like a clenched fist. Contemplative prayer requires unclenching it.

American Soundings

The art of puttering

Mar 22, 2013 by Rodney Clapp

Multitasking is marked by a sustained sense of urgency in a world mediated by communication devices. Puttering is something different.

American Soundings

More than entertainment

Feb 27, 2013 by Rodney Clapp

Filmmakers often defend cinematic violence by drawing a line between entertainment and the real world. But this devalues their work.

American Soundings

Homeland insecurity

Jan 28, 2013 by Rodney Clapp

The TV series Homeland raises some grave real-world questions.

American Soundings

Blessed technology

Jan 04, 2013 by Rodney Clapp

I work remotely, out of my home office. As such I am dependent on the smooth and ready operation of computer equipment. Recently I encountered some hitches.

American Soundings

Discomfort food

Dec 07, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

The Gideon Bible treats the Bible as comfort food. But a diet of the Bible consists of conflict and confrontation.

American Soundings

Personal soundtrack

Oct 30, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

After school, I was milking the cow and listening to the radio when I heard a menacing baritone intone the words, "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." It made an impression.

American Soundings

Into the darkness

Oct 10, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

Halloween's tradition of shadowy characters makes it as good a time as any to think on the reality of evil, sin and death that besets us.

American Soundings

Lament for small places

Sep 07, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

If agriculture survives at all on the Great Plains, it will be very limited. What will take its place? Not many people, that's for sure.

American Soundings

Snakes in the grass

Aug 10, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

I am not squeamish about most animals or insects. But snakes are a different story.

American Soundings

In-flight disciplines

Jul 20, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

Air travel—perhaps paradoxically—tutors us in patience, a practice in short supply in today's world.

American Soundings

Animals in the kingdom

Jun 15, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

I am confident that the new creation will include animals. I hope that it will include Merle, my deceased smooth-coat collie.

American Soundings

Life after life after death

May 17, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

While Christian scholars have long questioned body-soul dualism, it remains common in church circles. This may finally be changing.

American Soundings

Our first family

Apr 20, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

If anything remains sacred in our culture, it’s the family. Yet Jesus challenged the family’s ultimacy.

American Soundings

A browser’s lament

Mar 23, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

My wife and I used to visit a bookstore at least once a week. We can’t anymore, unless we drive 20 minutes to the now nearest one.

American Soundings

In praise of snow

Feb 28, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

Snow can be tiresome, even deadly, but it can also be a sign of holiness and of hope.

American Soundings

Attack of the zombies

Jan 27, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

All zombie plots include great hordes of the stalking dead. But the genre is maturing.

American Soundings

Myopia of the market

Jan 03, 2012 by Rodney Clapp

Since the years of Reagan and Thatcher, we have heard a steady drumbeat about the limitations of government. But what about the limitations of the free market?

American Soundings

A proper patriot

Dec 06, 2011 by Rodney Clapp

We owe our homeland patriotism, but not just any kind of patriotism—because just as we don't choose our parents, neither do we choose our country of origin.

American Soundings

In a dry season

Nov 11, 2011 by Rodney Clapp

Stretches of emptiness are not unusual in life, nor in the life of faith.