What's Tony Thinking

The Case of J. K. Rowling

March 29, 2023 — The other day the American Library Association was out with a report about an increase in attempted book bannings. It was unclear to me from the article how many of the “attempted” bans had succeeded, if any. I tend to think of this kind of thing as the work of people on the right-wing, and... Read More

And Now for Something Different

March 27, 2023 — My wife the yoga teacher structured today’s class around the idea of “Yoga for Travelers,” with airplane travel primarily in mind. The seats and spaces between them keep getting smaller. The tension has gotten higher. So some ways to take care of your embodied self under these conditions are welcome. Here’s Linda: Yoga for Travelers... Read More

The New Face of Christianity

March 26, 2023 — Last summer I attended a conference in Pittsburgh sponsored by the American Association of Theological Schools. The schools — seminaries — represented at the event were all recipients of major grants to strengthen their work from the Lilly Endowment for Religion. The work of such schools is primarily, though not exclusively, the preparation of clergy... Read More

Eternal Life Now

March 25, 2023 — Some thoughts on the gospel text for this Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent. That passage is John 11: 1 – 45, the raising of Lazarus. It is the last of this series of four lengthy, very dramatic, readings for this Lent from the ever-strange Gospel of John. One of the reasons that Gospel of... Read More

The Upside of Being Upended

March 23, 2023 — “Doubt” was the topic of this week’s webinar session with Chris Green. Here’s the link to the video if you want to watch or listen. I’d say Chris’s main theme was that getting your cage rattled is — at least sometimes — a good thing, a God-thing, and a sure sign of Jesus’ presence. We... Read More

Beautiful Spring and an Eastertide Study

March 20, 2023 — “Nothing is so beautiful as spring,” wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins. It’s true, isn’t it? After grey and chill, the spring signs — crocus and daffodil, green buds on the 0so and willow, thrush and wren in migration northward, herons on their nests doing their high wire ballet act of breeding. Even the moss and lichens... Read More

Being A Christian Does Not Mean Going with the Flow

March 18, 2023 — Some thoughts on this week’s gospel reading, John 9: 1 – 41. An amazing story, the account of Jesus healing of a man who was born blind. One of my ATF’s. It is so carefully crafted, unfolding in scene after scene, until in the final one Jesus, who got everything rolling then disappeared, returns to... Read More

Zero-Sum Thinking

March 16, 2023 — The other day I was listening to an interview with Richard Reeves, of the Brookings Institution, and the author of the newish book, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters and What To Do About It? Reeves had gotten some push-back on his book. “By drawing attention to boys and... Read More

Sad Liberals

March 14, 2023 — There are several new studies out that suggest mental health issues, particularly depression, are higher among politically liberal people. Highest of all among young women. Both young men and women who identify as liberal or progressive tend to have markedly higher instances of depression than self-identified conservatives of similar age or gender. Why? (Well, yes,... Read More

Set Free: A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Lent

March 11, 2023 — Here’s the link to the audio for those who prefer listening to reading. It runs 19 minutes. Starts at about the 30 second mark. “Set Free” John 4: 1 – 42 Third Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2023 Guemes Island Community Church I am impressed that so many of you made it on this “spring... Read More

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