Topics, Issues, Questions & News
Topics, Issues, Questions & News
Topics, Issues, Questions & News
PUBLISHED | “’Not an Average Man’: Eliot’s Commonplace Heroic and the ‘Beautiful Story’ of Jesus in Adam Bede”
VIJ (Victorians Institute Journal) will be publishing my article on Adam Bede in their forthcoming issue (#43)! This article grew out of a chapter...
Christmas Down Under
“Mama, it doesn’t feel like Christmas,” my five-year-old daughter declared while drinking hot chocolate on a steamy Sydney morning. “Why?” “Because...
“Be joyful, Though you have considered all the facts.”
It would be good to learn to nose-dive into a full, bodily celebration of the good at hand, even when it is as simple and routine as dew and a nicely mowed lawn.
VIDEO | How can Adam Bede be Jesus? He’s such a prig…
For some people, thinking of Adam Bede as Jesus presents problems because Adam isn't always nice. In this video I look at George Eliot's Adam Bede,...
The Importance of the Ending (or reflections on Raymond Reddington and God)
Last week, my husband and I started watching The Blacklist. For those of you who are not familiar with this highly addictive show, it is part...
VIDEO | My Dissertation in 3 Minutes
In this video I give an overview of my dissertation, The Quest for a Novelistic Jesus: Literary Relationships with Jesus in Victorian Realism. I...
God’s Actions amid God’s Absence
Readers of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited often remark on the novel’s many profound, evocative reflections on Christian faith. And, to be fair,...
Dissertation Defended!
On August 25th I successfully defended my dissertation, "The Quest for a Novelistic Jesus: Literary Relationships with Jesus in Victorian Realism."...
What stands in way of a transformative Christian faith?
In mid-May the Pew Research Center released the finding from its 2014 Religious Landscape Study. The results themselves were not surprising: fewer...
Itching ears? Or render unto God the things that are God’s
Itching ears is an old expression, denoting the desire to hear what we want to hear, to hear ethical and practical teachings that suit us, that...
In Print — “Perplext in Faith” Is Now Available!
It is an honor to be included in the fabulous collection of essays that Alisa Clapp-Itnyre and Julie Melnyk have put together in “Perplext in...
The End of Narrative
I have often wanted to ask my theologian-friends if narratives can exist apart from sin. I use the word sin because of its suggestion of brokenness,...
‘The Bible, Narrative, and Modernity’ Symposium @ Notre Dame
At the end of March I co-chaired “The Bible, Narrative, and Modernity,” with Meagan Simpson. This Nanovic Institute-sponsored symposium brought...
Χριστος Ανεστη
During the Easter season, Christians have traditionally greeted each other with the words “Christ is risen!,” to which the faithful reply, “He is...
Living Genesis 1… Sprouts from my Garden
It is the dead of winter in Indiana, and South Bend last week set a new record for the most snow in a 24-hour period. I shoveled our front sidewalks...
Please Join Me for “The Bible, Narrative, and Modernity” Symposium, March 26-28, 2015
Since winning a generous grant from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, fellow PhD Candidate Meagan Simpson and I have been working hard to...
Waiting…
How well do you wait? Sunday marked the beginning of Advent and, once again, I find myself writing Advent post here at Wondering Fair. In the past,...
Class, Classification, and Jesus | The 2014 NAVSA Conference in London, ON
The North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA)’s annual conference was held in London, Ontario over the weekend. The conference brought...
We long for heroes… but can Jesus be ours?
In the United States the end of October brings with it Halloween. In our neighborhood, the children will come pouring out-of-doors on what promises...
Intrusion and Grace
Recently U2 released its new album Songs of Innocence to everyone who uses iTunes. It was free, automatic, a gift. While there is much to say about...
VIDEO | Jesus and the Victorian Novel | A Dissertation Introduction
In the first of a series of videos, I introduce my Ph.D. dissertation by addressing three key questions: What did the Victorians think of Jesus?...
What does it mean to be blessed? and what was Jacob wrestling for?
Depending on how you look at it, Jacob is a pretty lucky man… He’s become rich off the herds of his father-in-law Laban. He has 2 wives, 2 concubines, and many children. His household is marked by wealth. If this isn’t blessing, what is?
Remembering Dr. J.I. Packer
On a Friday in 2007 I sat beside Jim Packer in a small Chinese Restaurant in Vancouver, Canada. I had no idea what I’d say to someone who, till the...
The binding of Isaac & the dance between Faithfulness & Righteousness
A Homily for the St. Michael – San Miguel Episcopal Church in Newberg, Oregon. Lessons from the Lectionary readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
John 21, A Narrative Approach | Jesus, His Friend Peter, and Us
What is your favorite story about Jesus?
Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach for Peter, in the Gospel of John’s final chapter is one of mine.
Design Thinking & The Liberal Arts
Before COVID-19, I started reading about design thinking because Jamie Turner shared an article about design thinking in K-12 classrooms. What I...