I am a Sherlock fan. You know, just in case there was any doubt. For most of you that read this blog regularly I really doubt there will be much of a question on that point, because I talk about it a fair amount around here. But this post is also written for the December 2013 synchroblog and I hope some people will read this who wouldn’t regularly ( Read more... )

This post was written as part of the October 2012 synchroblog, " a home-grown group of bloggers who like to write on topics of post-modern faith & life and have the chance to interact and intersect with other bloggers considering the same topics." As such, it's written from a uniquely Christian perspective, and is more Sunday School than ( Read more... )

(This post is part of the August synchroblog.)

A few weeks ago Jared Wilson entered my world for the first and what I hope will be the last time with a sexist screed that rocked the blogosphere, or at least my corner of it. His original post has been deleted, and I don’t exactly want to give his words any more air-time than they already received by ( Read more... )

Many atheist friends of mine (I’m thinking of Dan Fincke in particular, but I’m sure I’ve heard the point other places as well) describe “faith” as being more sure of something than is warranted by the available evidence. It’s not a complement. The thought, as I understand it, is that we should only believe things we have good reason to think are ( Read more... )

(Written for the March 2012 synchroblog; links TBA.)

I have a secret: for years now, I've wished I was eligible for the selective service.

In my country, at the age of eighteen all the guys have to register for the military draft. They don't actually have to serve, and chances are negligible that they'll be called up, since (for all our wars) America ( Read more... )

(The February 2012 synchroblog asks us to look at the extreme inequality in wealth in many areas of the world. This is a topic near and dear to my heart. I know the U.S. may be better than many places, but I still see a real issue in the power gay this wealth creates - it dehumanizes people on both side of the divide. That inspired this post.)

Over ( Read more... )

(Written for the November 2011 synchroblog; other posts available here.)

Over the last few days I've been following an exchange of blog posts by my friend Dan and Jerry Coyne, a professor of ecology at the University of Chicago. I call Dan by his first name because he recently finished his dissertation at the same school where I'm currently ( Read more... )

A Shadow of Things to Come
(This post was written for the June synchroblog; other entries can be found here [link TBA ( Read more... )

(This post is for the May 2011 Synchroblog. You can read the rest of the entries written for this month here.)

I've been thinking a lot lately about the story of Elwing. For those who don't know the story, she's an elf in Tolkien's book The Silmarillion, essentially the ancient history in the same world as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. ( Read more... )

(This post was written for the April Synchroblog.Lately, I've been having what I call my "Buddha" experience. For those of you that don't know the story, according to legend the Buddha encountered a sick man, a dying man, and a corpse in the course of a single day. These experiences, occurring in that order, led to a great revelation - according to ( Read more... )