Author Archives: Stephen

Some thoughts on Bobbed Hair, Bossy Wives, and Women Preachers

I admit it: I’m tired. Tired of the perennial discussions about the things women aren’t allowed to do, or what a “real man” or “real woman” looks like, discussions that often invoke the descriptor “Biblical” as a way of trying … Continue reading

Posted in Book reviews, Christianity | 1 Comment

lit

This post was originally written almost exactly a year ago for another blog, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, despite promises to the contrary, it was never posted. So I thought I’d offer it for perusal here, as I attempt … Continue reading

Posted in Book reviews | 2 Comments

“…we grapple with redemption’s fable.”

I’ll break my unintentional blog silence here, as 2012 appears on the horizon, to share a poem from the Irish poet Micheal O’Siadhail, someone whose words have been a comfort and challenge to me over the last year, a poet … Continue reading

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Why I Didn’t Attend Falwell’s Liberty University (it was too liberal)

This post first appeared over at Jesus Needs New PR a couple weeks ago. In January of 2007, Kevin Roose walked on to the campus of Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, ready to join 25,000 other students for the start of … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Literature | 1 Comment

Send Andrew Osenga to Space

For at least the last five years or so, whenever I think to check the “most-played” list in my iTunes, I’m never surprised to see that at least half the songs on the list are by Andy Osenga, many of … Continue reading

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The Sword of the Lord

This was also posted at Jesus Needs New PR It is difficult, if not impossible, to know who you are without knowing where you came from, without knowing the history of your people, your place. For me, that story revolves … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Literature | 2 Comments

Why I read Frederick Buechner

This was originally posted at My Friend Amy’s blog as part of her “Frederick Buechner week.” When it came time to critique the piece I was workshopping at a writing class I took part in the end of last summer, … Continue reading

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Some thoughts on expanding our moral imagination

I’ve written before about my admiration for the work of Reinhold Niebuhr, in, for example, the following posts: The tension between pedagogical caution and honesty Naïve idealism / bitter realism Never Safe against Temptation I was, then, as you might … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Politics | 2 Comments

Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird

The first book I ever read about writing was Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. I was in high school, just beginning to realize that writing was something I wanted my future self to do, … Continue reading

Posted in Literature | 2 Comments

Buechner’s Magic Kingdom

I finished reading Frederick Buechner’s The Eyes of the Heart: a memoir of the lost and found last week, after starting it two years ago. It didn’t take that long to read because of the length; it’s only 180 pages. … Continue reading

Posted in Literature | 1 Comment