This three part series from the Wild Theology Podcast from two years ago is where my podcast began. Of course, I had to start with something controversial. In this podcast, I extend Paul Ricouer’s concept of the Hermeneutics of Suspicion to what appears to be a growing problem in our interactions with one another. We … More Revisiting Controversial Podcast from 2 Years Ago
Burning Religion is certainly my most ambitious literary project to date, but it would not have been conceived without the long hard years of working as a pastor in the rather (in)famous little city of Salem, Massachusetts. Almost 20 years of monthlong Halloween entertainment and outreach projects, and befriending the Witchcraft community in Salem helped … More The Reformation of Halloween: Where Burning Religion Began
So, Governor Cuomo is in hot water for saying that “America was never that great.” Now he is backing down and saying that his statement was “inartful” – whatever that means. I think Cuomo has made a huge mistake, he should never have backed down from his first statement. Instead, he should have doubled down … More America is not Great? I think Cuomo is Right.
“Who are you?” said the caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I-I hardly know sir, just at present- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then,” said Alice. “What do you mean by … More The Problem with Finding Ourselves: Lessons from the Desert Fathers
The last two weeks, I have spent time in two deeply spiritual locations: Land’s End in Cornwall, and Avebury – at one of the famous stone henges. These locations have afforded opportunities to develop relationships with people from other faiths and to engage in spiritual discussion and gatherings with them. In Saint Buryan at Land’s … More Land’s End and Avebury: engagement with other faiths
Some thoughts from my book Burning Religion have been placed into podcast form. Eight to twelve minute segments covering some of the critical philosophical concepts behind the book are now found in my new Wild Theology Podcast. Here are some of the recent offerings, which can be found on my Patreon page: Navigating the Space Between … More Parallaxis and the Distance Between People: Nerd Alert!
Phil and Priscilla arrived in Dayton, TX at the home of Paul and Joy Burwell at the end of February. The plan was to stay a month in Texas. First stop was north of Houston with the Burwells. The second stop would be Austin, and the final stop would be Brownwood with the Browns, but … More Adventures with Priscilla in Texas
In a recent TED talk techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci talked about a developing dystopian culture being fed to us by the advertising on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media sites. She described following a series of YouTube videos about Donald Trump, and how they quickly led to a series of white supremacist videos, which grew in … More Avoiding the Distopian Future
I am afraid of beauty. In fact, it terrifies me. Lest you begin to feel sorry for me, this is the way I think it should be. At some raw and primeval level, I believe we are all terrified of beauty. I know some of you will completely disagree with me. You will be … More The Terror of Beauty
When Christians talk about a Christocentric worldview, we typically mean that we have Jesus in the center of our little world, and that we are always focused upon the Person of Jesus. But could it be that thinking of Christocentrism in this manner holds inherent weaknesses that diminish our effectiveness as voices of hope to … More A Million Damning Acts – Navigating the Impossible #3
“God never asks you to do anything you are capable of doing.” I first heard these words a long time ago. It was at a Pastor’s Conference in Portland, Oregon. Roy Hicks Jr. was speaking. These words were the main focus of his message, but before he could describe the paradoxical nature of their meaning, … More Called to the Impossible: Navigating the Impossible #1
Last night, a facebook “friend” went on a tirade over a post in which I critiqued our culture. It was an obscene tirade. It was a stupid – and I am sure – a drunken tirade. Later, I was openly accused of being a supporter of pedophilia and rape by the same person. All this over … More Thou Shalt Be a Hater: The New Cultural Commandment
“To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.” (Titus 1:15) Every liberation is followed by a new oppression, or so it would seem in the light of history and human relationships. From Egypt to Babylon … More Our Experience and Our Interpretation of the World Around Us
Today, there was a meeting at Salem State University. The meeting was called, because students wanted to talk about the problem of racism. On the other hand, the Art Department wanted to discuss the issue of the First Amendment and censorship. At stake was an art piece in an exhibit entitled “The State of the … More KKK Art, Salem State, the Problem with America in Microcosm
In full disclosure, I am white Christian, and therefore would appear to be part of the power structure of conservatism, but I did not vote for Trump, and my own history shows me to be somewhat of a rebel to the system. If you don’t understand how Evangelical Christianity fell into what appears to be … More How Could the White Christians Do This to Us?
Burning Religion 