Holding the Opposition
Writer James Baldwin turned nineteen on the day of his father’s funeral (August 3, 1943). A “race riot” had broken out in Harlem that day, so the mourners “drove my…
Young Sheldon
One of the most delightful shows on the tube these days is “Young Sheldon.” Brilliant little guy (“mighty little man,” as the theme song goes), who faces boyhood with a…
Wright is Wrong!
Or is she? I’m talking about Frances Wright, 19th Century Scottish-American social reformer who flung her freethinking in the face of pietistic faith. Advocate of women’s rights, abolition and freethought,…
Human Supremacy
In classes I teach on Freethinkers like naturalist John Muir, I often saunter back to wise reminders of human hubris, especially pride that comes from too much piety. “The world,…
Bubbleworld
On a creek … in a forest … by a waterfall … in the Blue Ridge Mountains … swirling bubbles … on a spinning globe … (can you spy the…
Geography of the Wild
My recent Zoom talk to the Jubilee! Community here in Asheville begins around the 45:40 mark.
Zora Hurston on Religion, Seeking Truth
African-American writer, Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), wrote about her long struggles with religious faith. I sense kinship with some of her wise and honest words. In her memoir, Dust Tracks…
JFK on Separation of Church and State
Sixty years ago today, September 12, 1960, candidate John F. Kennedy spoke to a ministerial association in Houston, TX. He presented some of the most powerful words ever spoken by…
Look Down, Look Up
The most massive things; the most minute things. Nature reminds us to look up and look down … to keep perspective. Today, I turned my eyes upward to the formations…
