A Minnesota Public Radio commentary of mine went up today, “A lesson in caution, in time for Christmas.” I’ve posted the introduction below, but you’ll need to click over to the MPR site for the full piece. A lesson in caution, in time for Christmas A few days ago I wrote a bitter, snarky [...]
Eboo Patel at Concordia College: “Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America”
Dr. Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith Youth Core, member of the President’s religious advisory council, and interfaith movement rock star, visited Concordia College’s campus this week. He was splendid. Speaking at Convocation, giving a public lecture, and appearing at a full day’s worth of conversations, Patel set a tone for our year of interfaith cooperation, [...]
Hopes and fears from Collegeville
A post from the Collegeville Institute, Summer Writing Program: Theology in the Real World with Kathleen Norris “What are our hopes and fears for the week?” Kathleen asks us Sunday night as the shadows fall and the mosquitoes fly. “Write them down. We’ll share them in the morning.” Fears? Fear are easy. Anxiety is one [...]
Theological Doctrines, Plain Speech, & the Public Square
What basic Christian tenet, doctrine, or word have you struggled to “translate” into plain speech? That question is part of an essay prompt I’m considering for a July writing workshop with Kathleen Norris at the Collegeville Institute at St. John’s Abbey and University in Minnesota. Can you help me think out loud on this one? [...]
Big Boys? Maybe. Real Men? No way.
I hate macho. I hate the message it sends young men — that we should be athletes not scholars, emotionless yet prone to violence, treat women as sex objects and gay men as the enemy. Yet, macho culture is so prevalent I often forget how dastardly it is until something sets me off. Yesterday, that [...]
Transforming Divisive Conversation
I have my hands full at the moment with some up-and-coming writing and other projects, but I did want to update the blog and give a quick public thanks to the Public Conversations Project. I attended a workshop in Minneapolis this week entitled, “Transforming Divisive Conversation” and learned a heckuvalot. (By the way, I attended [...]
MPR Commentary: “Let’s have some ground rules for debating the marriage amendment”
An opinion piece of mine went up at MPR News online today. In it, I try to set some ground rules for debating the marriage amendment that will be on Minnesota’s ballot come November. An excerpt of the article is below. I hope you go to the MPR site to read the full piece, share [...]