Topics, Issues, Questions & News
Topics, Issues, Questions & News
Topics, Issues, Questions & News
Richard Mourdock, Rape, and God’s Will
Unless you live in a cave, you are probably well aware that the US elections are on next Tuesday, which means that we should have some relief from...
Federer on Phelps, Competing with a Heart of Excellence
Ahhh, the Olympics. Every two years (alternating winter/summer) we are treated to two-weeks of exemplary dedication, fierce competition, athletic...
Circumcision? Says Who?
Thinking of getting circumcised? Probably not....but how about getting your baby circumcised? A recent court decision may be relevant. A German...
TMI? Virginity and the Christian Witness
Did you hear Lolo Jones is a virgin? Scanning news headlines a couple weeks ago, I was surprised and somewhat bemused by the sudden obsession with...
Distance, Repentance and Embrace
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations details the maturation of Pip, a young man specially selected by an unknown benefactor to become a “gentleman.” ...
Intellectual Adoration & the Victorian “Crisis of Doubt”
Victorian Britain—especially from 1859-1901—it is often described in terms of a “crisis of doubt.” Today we assume that this crisis in Christian...
Conflict and Community
One of my children is in trouble with the law…. About midnight a few weeks ago, just as I was falling asleep, I awoke with a start as Ziva, our...
Christmas in the New Year
While Christmas decorations are starting to come down and the world’s attention is turned to the celebration of the new year, I am still immersed in...
Black Friday Blues
Black Friday—the traditional American shopping day that occurs the day after American Thanksgiving or the final Friday in November—has long been a...
Mothering, Blame & Control
Helicopter Parenting. Free-Range Parenting. Attachment Parenting. Natural Parenting. Feminist Parenting. I could list may more but the point...
Will there be Macs in Heaven?
Steve Jobs’ death on Wednesday “provoked the largest online response of any event in recent history” according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Even...
When Confession Doesn’t Work
James Joyce’s only play The Exiles is little performed because, well, it isn’t really very good. If it hadn’t been written by Joyce (who begged Ezra...
Gluttony, Justice, and Grace
Donna Simpson has been making headlines over the past few weeks for her goal of becoming the world’s fattest woman. News clips of the morbidly obese...
Feeling too Tired to be a Christian?
Recently, I’ve begun thinking that I may be too tired to be a Christian. Trying to juggle my PhD program, my husband’s home-based business start-up,...
Called to a Predictable Life?
There is a version of faith that slides very nicely into middle-class, middle-aged life, giving those who are a bit insecure the answers that they...
Grammar Police & the Fear of Judgement
When people email me, they almost always include some line that goes “please don’t check my spelling” or “I know I’m terrible at grammar” or “I hate...
Teaching our Daughters to Bear the Image of God
A recent New York Times piece, Cultural Studies: The Playground Gets Even Tougher, examines an increasing trend toward bullying among very...
Giving and Hospitality: Making Space for Others
To receive and to return gifts is no easy matter. How often has the kindly birthday or Christmas gift from a boss or acquaintance led to panic the...
A big move back to the Pacific Northwest
On August 15, I officially started a new tenure-track position as the Director of Liberal Arts and Assistant Professor of English and Theology at...
The Professor and the Pastor — An Experiment in Conversational Preaching
What happens when two trained theologians—one a pastor and one a literary scholar—work together to preach a text? Calls for...
Artificial Intelligence and the Image of God: A Conversation
Join us @ Holy Cross College for a Conversation about: Artificial Intelligence and the Image of God This term I'm teaching a class on the...
Re-Thinking Resources for the Liberal Arts: Adjunct Addiction
We all know that Higher Education’s dependence on adjunct labor is bad. Clearly, the labor conditions for adjuncts are a problem. Despite having...
Fortune 500 Company adopts my Students’ Writing Project
Earlier this month, Joey the Spotted Turtle was adopted by EmNet! After bringing Joey into the world as a class project, my Environmental Literature...