Category Archives: on Etiquette for the soul

on Sin

There are a number of terms in Christian dogmatic theology, and by extension preaching, that are often bantered about as if separate and distinct realities existing in some real or logical sequence: salvation (saved, healed, given health, restored to life), … Continue reading

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on Pre-judging and Fore-giving

Our modus operandi is prejudicial. We operate with prejudices. It is, on one level, a matter of evolution, a matter of being able to automatically, non-reflectively, assess a situation via socially assimilated valuations. As with all evolved skills, it is … Continue reading

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on Forgiveness

In chapter eight of John’s gospel there is told a tale often considered a tender, an almost romantic tale, of forgiveness and pardon. It is the story of a woman accused of adultery. She had been caught in flagrante delicto. … Continue reading

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“Unto us a child is born”

I recently received a letter form an old friend in which she reminisced about my parents. Reminiscences, like the sound of the word itself, ripple, and so that night as I prepared to sleep I had my own remembrances of … Continue reading

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on Forbidden Carols, a response to the question “How can I sing it when I don’t believe it?”

I know several people who love Christmas and all the carols of the season. They are, however, continuously censoring themselves whenever its music fills their hearts. They feel hypocritical chanting away about virgins giving birth, the Font of All Being … Continue reading

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on Priesthood

There are some who seemingly believe that a priest is a “sacred person” rather than one to whom is given a sacred charge. If the priest is a sacred person, all the priest need to do is keep some sense … Continue reading

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on Throwing Stones, letters to an unworthy cleric and his publisher

I read your work twice because at first I thought I was misunderstanding some rhetorical trick. Most unhappily, I realized I was gazing upon an act of grossest ignorance. I am certain that you had to spend several years in … Continue reading

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