A professor once offered an idea on starting conversations with people who haven’t been to church in a while. To  get at a delinquent member’s heart and perhaps to try to determine his attitude toward the church, the prof recommended gauging the person’s reaction to the verse, “Be holy for I am holy.” Does it strike him as Law? Does it make him fearful? Is … Continue reading response

There are lots of things I love in this world: fireplaces, the color red, pick-ups on gravel roads, how church smells like lilies and incense at the Easter Vigil, chicken salad and sleeping with the windows open.   I also love my living room, Audrey Hepburn’s classiness, black and white, and my grandparents’ era, when men wore suits and hats and women wore high heels and … Continue reading a few of my favorite things

“Here’s something I’d like to see: A history of popular theodicy, tracing the influence of the ‘argument from the existence of evil’ against belief in God (or the Christian God, at least) throughout the course of Western history. It’s my impression – and it’s only an impression, which is why I’d like to see someone do the necessary intellectual spadework to refute it or back … Continue reading theodicy