My wife and I were recently in conversation with my brother and sister-in-law. As is often the case on such occasions, there were stories about our long-deceased father; a veteran of World War II who died from a war-related illness when my brother and I were young children. In the midst of our reflections, my…
In the summer of 1972, I was a graduate student in the Divinity School of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.The summer program included practical application of class work to local church settings in many rural and urban settings. That summer I was an intern in a relatively quiet, North Carolina, small town in which…
Over the past two years I have read Ron Chernow’s comprehensive and excellent biographies of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Ulysses S. Grant. In addition to these historical tomes, I have read Isabel Wilkerson’s powerfully compelling narratives, “Caste” and “The Warmth of Other Suns.” There has been great value in studying the historical record contained…
There is a well-known phrase used in real estate assessment in determining a home’s marketability and sale value. The phrase describes a property’s “curb appeal.” As a potential buyer drives up to the address listed by the real estate agent, the “curb appeal,” (the first impression and overall attractiveness of the exterior of the home) will…
Several years ago, on the first day of Holy Week, I was riding an RTA bus fromUniversity Circle to Public Square in Cleveland. Sitting in the seats in front of meand talking loudly, several folks were in conversation about their variousschedules for the coming week and their weekend plans. Suddenly, with greatexcitement one said to…
During the last four days of February this year the Conservative Political Action Congress (CPAC) gathered in Florida. CPAC is a shadow of its former self. It was once a reasonably cogent gathering of conservative thinkers and activists that provided focused, national support for Ronald Reagan. CPAC at its last incarnation was a Trump Cult gathering anxious to cheer for their hero described by many as…
On my most recent previous post I wrote that the effort to find common ground in our religiously and politically polarized time is a trivial pursuit. I suggested some examples where “common ground” is no longer possible to find because – like the Fountain of Youth or Xanadu – it does not exist. I suggested…
In the fall of 1971, I began a Master of Divinity Degree program at Duke University. One of my initial courses in moral philosophy and ethics included the study of what was being described then as, “a troubling resurgence of an American theology called, ‘Civil Religion’.” Now, fifty years later, Civil Religion is better known…
On January 6th there were a great number of tragic, despicable sights as domestic insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, the citadel and temple of American democracy. Each of us can call to our mind’s eye the now familiar, horrific sights of replayed video footage of the murderous and destructive assault on our Republic. The pictures of Capitol…
In the closing week of 2020 and now in these beginning days of 2021 there have been many written and spoken commentaries on the past year. Everyone seems to be awfully glad 2020 has come to an end. There is a general chorus of “good riddance” to a year of pandemic-caused death, sickness, and accompanying grief. 2020…