Posts by D C

Pure joy.  That is something that our nation hasn’t experienced collectively for a long time.  We’ve been too ideologically divided.  What pleases one half of the country frustrates the other half. But pure joy can be felt nearly every day from mid-June to mid-July as the US, Canada, and Mexico host the World Cup, the…

I am a collector of stories, and the stories I like best are those of folks who don’t fit the tight confines of society.  That is why the stories of saints have always intrigued me.  St. Francis, St. Therese of Lisieux, and Rabia of Basra are all examples of people who wouldn’t color within the…

There are moments in human history that are the equivalent of major earthquakes.  Everyone is rocked to the core.  Time is divided; there is “before the earthquake” and “after the earthquake.” One of these earthquakes occurred in the 16th century, when Copernicus made the startling observation that the sun doesn’t move around the earth, but…

When is a dream important?  We all have dreams that we barely remember when we wake up.  Many times, these dreams leave us with a vague feeling, often one of disquiet.  Other dreams we remember with great detail, even though those details might make little sense.  And then there are the dreams that leave us…

The American mystic Howard Thurman wrote about being invited to speak at a traditional Quaker gathering.  He decided not to prepare his sermon, but instead to trust in the Quaker experience of silent meditation to reveal what he should say. Having attended a traditional silent Quaker service, I knew that the two requirements for those…

The past semester, the college where I taught for forty-two years invited me to help the department by teaching a course.  The course was Introduction to the New Testament, a course I’d taught almost every spring for those forty-two years.  Because the course was so familiar to me, I imagined I would teach it much…

The 19TH century abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, wrote that slavery wouldn’t be ended until Black people had the right to vote.  That might sound like ancient history, but recent events make we wonder if steps taken by the Trump administration aren’t returning Black Americans to another form of slavery. I am referring to Trump’s efforts to…

The basketball game between Duke and UConn last week provided one of the most stunning endings in tournament history.  UConn looked out of it until late in the game when they made a comeback.  Even then, all Duke had to do was run out the last few seconds of the clock to advance.  But then…

I was asked recently to give a talk on one of the most influential philosophers and theologians of the 20th century—Martin Buber.  I doubt that the people who asked me to talk about Buber were aware of the gift they gave me with their request.  Of all the philosophers or theologians I could be asked…

This past weekend, I came across a documentary on the musical group Nickelback.  First of all, I confess that I’d never listened to a song by this group before I watched the documentary.  I also confess that all I knew about Nickelback was that they are one of the most hated groups in the history…