Latest Articles
What (some) Trump supporters were thinking—and feeling
A Berkeley academic empathizes with antigovernment Louisianans.
The giver and the gift: A Christian's delight in things
If the world is a gift, then all the things to which you relate—and many to which you don't—are also God's relation to you.
What's at stake in the next four years
Avoid the media distractions. Focus on collective responses to Trump.
The cry of Advent
Even popular holiday movies echo the message of the season: repent!
J. K. Rowling’s wizards in the Jazz Age
Fantastic Beasts diagnoses how rising fear leads to demonizing others.
Introducing Cover to Cover
My job: read, love, critique, and comment on books. Your job: read, love, critique, and comment on this blog.
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From school to prison
For some kids, jail is a school field trip. For others, it's nearly inevitable.
Whose blog? Which practicality?
Thanks for supporting my writing! Hope you like the new view.
Repent and bear fruit (Matthew 3:1-12)
I am grateful for John the Baptist's indictment.
Three things to know before starting a church
New churches and the people supporting them need to understand the commitment they're making.
January 6, Epiphany of the Lord: Matthew 2:1–12
If people can approach the faith without thinking they already know what it is, they might hear the good news for themselves.
Poverty's lifelong damage
Decades worth of data have proven that poverty shortens lives. Will anyone respond?
Accumulated longings
Like everything else in human experience, sometimes our longings need to be reoriented and redeemed.
The radiance when God comes close
I watched the full moon cover mundane scenes with its glow. Isn't this what Advent is about?
How I learned to love Thérèse of Lisieux
At first I found the "little flower" insufferable. Then I read her unedited writing.
January 1, First Sunday after Christmas Day: Matthew 2:13-23
What troubles me about the holy family's flight to Egypt is that God, in Jesus, runs away.