Guest Blogger: Brooke Anne Wellman As a white person, it is difficult to write about racism claiming any sort of moral high ground, but not to talk about it is a deep moral error. I have heard people of color say that in these kinds of conversations, they often find themselves doing most of the work to educate white people. Either that, or feeling like they have to lighten the mood and keep their real thoughts shut up inside so... Read more

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“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” Gandalf. The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkein We need some good news these days. And some just came from my corner of the world, a Republican Federal Judge in Washington State. In our politicized world a manichean... Read more

For the last three years I’ve moderated the Veritas Forum at my University. And each time we’ve had 500 to 700 university students come to these sessions and the recent event was no different. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed these sessions, which give our students ample time to ask questions and to experience informed and responsible interlocutors that include Christians, agnostics and atheists. The year’s Veritas theme was “In _____ we trust.” It’s a great question in these troubling times. We had... Read more

One of my favorite authors, Sherman Alexie, had a wonderful tweet after the election: “Anyone else feel like a bird who just flew into a window? I’m shaking off the hit & ready to fly and fight again.” Well I must say I’m still on the ground, wiggling around back and forth trying to figure out what just happened. This is not to say I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t want to see what was coming, but there were... Read more

Leonard Cohen, who died the day after Trump’s victory in the presidential election, introduced his song, “If It Be Your Will” with these words, which I found very powerful in this time of tears, pain and disappointment for so many of us. “I don’t know which side anyone is on anymore I don’t really care. There is a moment when we have to transcend the side we’re on and understand that we are creatures of a higher order. That doesn’t... Read more

I’m with the nasty women for lots of reasons! I’m reading John Caputo’s The Weakness of God. I love this: “Suppose, in addition, Jesus said that the sinners would get priority seating in the kingdom, that there was some kind of preferential priority, not just for the poor, which in a way is “fair,” but for the wicked, which is not fair. If he did indeed say, “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God... Read more

These are dark days folks. Everyone is just a bit down. (Thank God for the Cubbies!) Cynicism, as they say, is intellectual depression. There are no innocents in this political election season, there is very little hope and so I think we need a good and kind and loving word to be sung, to belt it out with all our hearts! Hey, what is the good news? Is there any good news of hope out there? It is not often... Read more

Words can heal and they can kill. These days we are in a word storm. It’s no secret that it’s becoming chic among Trump followers to suggest that pc culture is destroying America. They even say, “Donald Trump is no Boy Scout, but the women around him should know better; it’s men being men.” They argue that the kind of talk we heard on the video of Trump wanting to “f….” women, wanting to “kiss” them without consent, and wanting... Read more