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A Different Kind of Institutional Loyalty

Individual indifference to an institution may reflect the institution’s own indifference to itself.

The Grammar of Gratitude

To feel grateful, we must have gratitude to someone for something. That’s the grammar of gratitude. For the gift of life itself, we must be grateful to the giver of all life.

The Etiquette of Email

I am by no means an expert on email etiquette, but, then again, who is? Besides, as a philosophy professor, center director, and pastor, I get my share of email, so I make up in volume what I lack in wisdom.

Theories of Justice at Work and in Marriage

The four theories of justice — conservative, socialist, libertarian, and progressive — approach basic questions of life, from work to love, very differently. We look at two examples: the opportunity for an apprenticeship and gay marriage.

Four Theories of Justice

The four theories of justice are conservative justice, which is judicial and familial; socialist justice, which is political and familial; libertarian justice, which is economic and judicial, and progressive justice, which is economic and political.

The King of Love is My Shepherd

God has a relationship with all people, but he does not have every kind of relationship with every kind of person. Indeed, God’s use of the language of fatherhood underscores, in addition to intimacy and tenderness, the exclusivity of his connection to his children.

Why I Vote, Even When I Don’t Know What I am Doing

I believe in voting, even though, most of the time, I know very little about the candidates and recognize that, except in very unlikely circumstances, my vote will not make a difference to any election, large or small.

God’s Relationship to the World

To say God must be the father of all people, you’ll need something stronger than the idea of fatherhood to get there.

Equality and Justice: The Flowchart

We all want justice, but we have different ideas about what justice requires. I am convinced that thinking about justice’s relationship to equality can help, hence this flowchart.

Christian Beliefs that Narrow our Political Options

Providence and free will, sin and salvation, and heaven and hell come into conflict with certain widespread beliefs about equality and justice.

Christianity and Equality: Why Bother?

What causes people to leave the church: evolution, the sexual revolution, or something else? Perhaps all of the above. But let me offer an additional reason why people abandon Christianity: equality. Not every kind of equality casts doubts on Christianity’s core doctrines, but some do.

From John Keats’s “To Autumn”

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,— While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking