On this first day of Advent a cold wind blusters our parcel in Oklahoma, and like many in America today, we awakened to the chill of grief this mistral brings. In addition to the approximately 90,000 Americans who spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the hospital, and the nearly 2000 Americans who died today from the … Continue reading A joy still to come… →

Who cooks and who cleans reveals a great deal about who we are as Americans and how we approach traditions and evolving mores in our society. Thanksgiving, as a holiday is an opportunity to examine these long held ways of taking care of household responsibilities. And in the interest of full disclosure, I readily admit … Continue reading Turkeys, sexuality, and culture. A thanksgiving reflection. →

Twenty five years ago this week, one of the most influential records in my life was released. dc Talk's Jesus Freak is still cited as one of Contemporary Christian Music's most influential albums and is still the subject of praise and criticism. I thought I would revisit a review of the book Jesus Freak to … Continue reading 25 years later and still a “Jesus Freak” →

During the second World War, service men in the United States Air Force were issued flotation devices as part of their standard flight suit. The vest when inflated made the men appear to be rather large chested resulting in the vest gaining the nickname Mae West, referencing the popular American movie star who was rather well … Continue reading Help! I’m drowning… →

I remember having a book as a kid with Jesus and the Devil playing chess in the background as a man sat alone on a bench in the foreground contemplating his soul. As I recall the picture was meant to communicate the "valley of decision" that the man on the bench was experiencing. I find … Continue reading Grace needs no gambit →

As a child I rarely missed church. It was engrained in me that church attendance was essential to my salvation. We were a long way from the understanding that it was God’s grace and not our own efforts that saved us, and even though “our own efforts” included a long list of behavioral expectations, most … Continue reading Only the end remains? →

Imagine if the 45th President of the United States had been humbled by his office that he narrowly won four years ago. Imagine if he would have opened his presidency by saying something like "It has been a contentious campaign, I recognize that I have a tendency to speak in hyperbolic terms that can come … Continue reading Imagine how things might have been different. →

 Boarders of contention often result in the emergence of stereotypical imaginations, where those on competing sides of the boarder in question, wrongly characterize those standing across the line from them. For example, the border between The United States and Mexico is a space of contention. And has been for as long as the national borders … Continue reading “With a pistol in hand” An essay on the ballad of Gregorio Cortez. An exploration of mythological stereotype, its emergence and perpetuation. →

Who we are as a Nation is supported by the evidence of our history. That history is both good and bad, but it cannot be denied. But now it seems President Trump is seeking to force the hand of history in the absence of any evidence that he has earned the right to do so. … Continue reading Absence of evidence →

Sometimes the Professor poses a question to defamiliarize the student's relationship to the answers. I enjoy asking questions about life. I enjoy being inquisitive about my place in the world and contemplating some of the bigger questions of existence. Origin, meaning, morality, destiny, those kinds of big questions. I've been a thinker for most of … Continue reading The sandpaper of an abrasive creed →