Before we continue, I have a brief assignment: Have another look at yesterday’s gospel reading, John 1:43-51. Pay particular attention to Nathanael. Ready? Let’s dive in. Did Jesus’ comment about Nathanael strike you? “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Surely that’s a compliment when it comes from no less a […]
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Belief Formation
Most of us haven’t given much thought to the way we acquire our beliefs, but this is a hot topic for philosophers like me, mainly because we’d like to know how to go about forming beliefs that are grounded and good for us. Essentially, the way people form beliefs is a lot like the way […]
Continue ReadingHabits
The new year marks a season of expectation, guilt, and failure brought on by one of the curses of our primate nature, the New Year’s Resolution. It’s been decades since I joked that my new year’s resolution was to give up making any. I encourage you to join me, and I’ll give you a very […]
Continue ReadingPrimate Science
Science as progressive lying Much has been made in recent news of Anthony Fauci’s “deceit,” and to be honest, the whole story brought to mind my granny, alas now deceased. I loved my granny dearly, and she doted on me, her first grandchild, from as far back as my memory extends. Nevertheless, my affection for […]
Continue ReadingEmptiness
A memorial for 2020 The beginning of a new year always seems full of promise, and the first day of 2021 tempts us to close the door on 2020, a year of disappointment, loss, and suffering for so many, and on such a scale. Before you close that door, think along with me about how […]
Continue ReadingExpect the Unexpected
“Expect the unexpected, or you will not find it — it cannot be searched for or found out.” This is one of my favorite quotations from the presocratic philosopher, Herakleitos. It’s a paradox: How do you know what to expect if it’s unexpected? And if you somehow manage to expect the unexpected, it’s no longer […]
Continue ReadingThanksgiving
To say that this has been a period of extraordinary upheaval would be the understatement of the year. We’ve dealt with the immediate crises of the pandemic: changing our routines, adjusting to anxiety, working through the challenges of activities that used to be simple. Briefly, we’ve worked very hard just to make it work. In this season […]
Continue ReadingThe Talents
Prefer to listen? Here’s the podcast version of The Talents. Yesterday was the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, and this year the gospel reading was one of my favorite parables: The Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The author of Matthew uses this parable to portray the End Times, a discussion begun by the disciples’ question “What will be […]
Continue ReadingReflections on Election Day 2020
I grew up in the anxious period immediately after Sputnik, when, for a moment, and, at least through the eyes of an elementary-school kid in central Texas, education was a serious priority. I seem to recall a zeal in my teachers; they were people on a mission, and we all seemed to sense that the stakes were […]
Continue ReadingThe Poet who saved St. Pancras
The poet whose campaign saved St. Pancras Station was Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984), poet laureate of the United Kingdom from 1972 until his death.
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