News & Articles
See No Evil, Read No Evil
At the start of my teaching career back in the seventies, I also served as the chaplain in a church-related college. Those were memorable years when students would stop by my office to discuss problems, and not all of those problems were spiritual. I vividly remember one conversation with a student, as she came…
Alfred Nobel’s Prize
My wife and I share Swedish ancestry, so we knew from the time we were young that the Nobel Peace Prize is named after a famous 19th century Swedish inventor. While people might assume that we would be proud of that fact, the truth is more complicated. Alfred Nobel was a highly successful businessman, but…
Let It Rain, Let It Rain
Last week, I was looking for something to read before bedtime and by happenstance I pulled from the bookshelf A Fine Smirr of Rain, written by my friend Bill Bridges. When Bill passed away suddenly a little over a year ago, I lost a close friend and a writing mentor. Bill was a journalist, first…
The Smell of Sheep
Pope Francis’s funeral did not mean the end of my admiration for this uncommon leader. I am rereading two biographies of Jorge Bergoglio, as he was known before he took the name of Francis for his papacy. I’m also reading some of his sermons—many of them his spontaneous thoughts—as well as reflections from Church leaders…
Fishing With Gandhi
One of my best memories from this summer centers on our older son and his family joining us on vacation in northern Wisconsin. My ten-year-old grandson, having grown up on fishing stories from his Dad and from me, was determined to catch a bass while he was with us. On the first day they were…
A Dose of Tylenol
Recently, President Trump, surrounded by several doctors he has appointed and Robert Kennedy, Jr., made a short but strong statement that advised pregnant women to avoid taking Tylenol during pregnancy. In his roughly twelve-minute address, he repeated his warning—by my count twenty-one times—that there is a link between taking Tylenol and autism. I commend President…