Good News, Bad News
News Sources and a New Reading of Religion There sure is a whole lot of bad news in the world, isn’t there? Maybe one reason we get so upset with…
Tag: essay
MLK and Atheists
MLK for Atheists Rev. King was no saint, though probably more of a saint than many “saints.” No miracle-worker … just a “drum major” for justice, and justice matters to…
Horseshit Detection
Skepticism, Intuition and Horseshit Detection Intuition: “the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning” (New Oxford American Dictionary) I awoke at 4am, conscious of a sound. …
Symbols that Unite or Divide
At my ordination service a friend gave me a cross he had made from two nails. I wore that during the time I worked as a county jail chaplain in…
Peace of Paradise
Piece (if not Peace) of Paradise I saw that a former neighbor’s house is for sale. The asking price: $7m and change. If you have the millions, the change won’t…
Self-reliance
Self-reliance and the sacred/secular life In his still-reliable and still-relevant essay from 1839, “Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) preaches the gospel of genius in each individual. “To believe your own…
To the Edge
To the Edge of Life and Death (this is a very personal reflection, and there are some painful images) Have to agree with my friends with faith that “the unseen”…
