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Thin Places

I’m in the home stretch of writing my thesis for Seminary (for those of you who play close attention, I got an extension and it is now due this Saturday. Long story.) on Flannery O’Connor’s Theology of Disability. I’ve learned a lot about theology, disability, and O’Connor, but the unexpected blessing of the past three…

As readers of this blog already know, Penny attends an inclusive preschool. There are about 14 kids in the class–eight who are “typically-developing” and six with special needs. On Sunday, it was Sarah’s (I’ve changed her name) birthday, and she had a “pony party” with all the kids from her class at school. I knew…

Somewhat related to today’s earlier post, I have a new post on 843 Acres: What do your neighbors think about Christianity? It begins: “They will know we are Christians by our love.” At least in my neck of the woods, Christianity is seen as oppressive, intolerant, anti-intellectual and against science. Not a fair assessment, to…

What do a Jewish bisexual woman and a born-again Christian man living on a farm in Alaska have in common? They’re brother and sister. Brother Born Again (available on Netflix) is the documentary film that Julia makes as she tries to understand her brother Marc and his decision to leave his culture and family in…

About once a month, Penny and I take a special trip to Panera for lunch. Tuesday was the day. “Let’s go out to lunch,” I said. “At a restaurant?” she asked. “I like a restaurant!” We stood in line, and I picked Penny up so she could see over the counter. The woman taking our…

On Ash Wednesday, we knew that March would bring with it vacation. Nearly two weeks of vacation, in fact. A week in Virginia with old friends, and then a long weekend in California. And on Ash Wednesday, we made the decision to abstain from alcohol as a Lenten discipline, including those vacation days in March.…

A while ago, I read a scholarly book called Disability in the Hebrew Bible, by Saul Olyan. I have a review of the book right now with Books and Culture. It begins… If I had a nickel for every time Saul Olyan uses the word “stigmatize” and its cognates in Disability in the Hebrew Bible,…

I’ve been reading a lot of Flannery O’Connor recently, and I came across her thoughts (as a devout Roman Catholic) on birth control. In a letter to a friend, she writes: “The Church’s stand on birth control is the most absolutely spiritual of all her stands and with all of us being materialists at heart,…

I have a new piece at her.meneutics, the Christianity Today blog. Regular readers of this blog will recognize some of the ideas, although it does contain new material as well. It begins: The word retarded has made the news lately. The Special Olympics designated March 3rd as a day of awareness about the hurtful and…

I met a Wycliffe Bible translator a few years ago. He described the cultural differences he encountered upon living on an island in the Philippines. In a community meeting, people argued vociferously and passionately against one another. The room seemed split almost down the middle on opposing sides. At the end of the debate, they…
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