…so instead I’m reading. But what do we mean by identity? The missiologist-theologians Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden, who have studied identity and dignity, nuance the differences between the two as those of substance and value, suggesting, “Identity answers the question ‘Who am I?’, while dignity answers the question, ‘What am I worth?’” […] Within […]
To begin with, unlike the sale of a commodity, the giving of a gift tends to establish a relationship between the parties involved.* * It is this element of relationship which leads me to speak of gift exchange as an “erotic” commerce, opposing eros (the principle of attraction, union, involvement which binds together) to logos […]
For Fred, and for Mister Rogers, this was the work of God: seeing the eternal in your neighbor, that divine presence that allows us to show mercy to our neighbor—and to receive it. […] Dr. Orr taught [Fred Rogers] that on one side of the spectrum stood the evil one, the accuser. In explaining what […]
When in my twenties I fell in love with poetry, took out some big loans, packed up my small red Mazda hatchback with everything I owned and drove from Denver to New York to start graduate school, it never occurred to me that I was searching for a new way to read the Bible. I […]
I have led a day of outwardly-directed, list-clearing virtue: I exercised, ran my first tutorial (orientation) for a webmistress to replace me on our synod Presbyterian Women website, lunched at a new restaurant with my TWO lovely daughters—A is spending her vacation/long weekend with us—got acupunctured, spent more-but-fruitful time chasing the difficulties my file restoration […]
Evidently it’s a ‘mood’-y week. When I arose from achieving my nearly-eight hours of sleep, it was mid-morning, and… let’s say I’ve been disinclined to tackle my projects. So I read some Dick Francis thrillers for a while, then wandered back to Michael Lewis’ The Big Short. Have you seen the movie version? See it. […]
Today it was about 60°F and intermittently sunny. Tomorrow it’s supposed to get into the 20s, yay central Texas weather. But today turned out to be a solid day for tackling some of the yardwork that’s been lurking. There’s plenty of cold-season work to do, now that it’s more-frequently cold. Several of our plantings need […]
As is usual during Reading Week, I desperately want to read… anything but the works of John Calvin, or (though less fervently) the work of contemporary scholars and theologians wrestling with interesting ideas. Nope, I want to read something with sweep and scope and propulsive narrative. Something like… ‘Prairie Fires’ reveals complicated world of ‘Little […]
A pastor friend, now deceased, once gave me this clipping from a local newspaper from the 1950s. I can find no source for it, but I believe it is helpful in making sense of suffering. Suffering is not God’s desire for us, but it occurs in the process of life. Suffering is not given to […]
Question Two: What commitment am I willing to make? This question recognizes that if change is to occur, it will come from my own free choice, not from the investment of the institution or the transformation of others. Every project of consequence or personal calling will require more of us than we originally imagined. Sister […]
