Skip to content
Accessibility tools
What's Tony Thinking
January 12, 2024 —
Are you confounded by Donald Trump’s continuing popularity? I sure am. Not just confounded. Astounded. Aggravated. Perplexed. Perturbed and pretty darn close to poleaxed. The Iowa Caucuses are now two days away. Barring a miracle, Trump will win it easily, overwhelmingly. I follow the reports on Iowa voters and can’t figure out how in the... Read More
January 11, 2024 —
“Pro Institutions” may count as the least sexy blog post header of all time. But (for today) it’s mine, and I’m sticking to it. The other day I was going through books on my shelves with an eye toward weeding out some for the used book vendor. One that I initially culled was Yuval Levin’s... Read More
January 9, 2024 —
We had the happy privilege of marking the Feast of Epiphany (January 6) by sharing dinner with dear friends, including their Lutheran pastor. One of our hosts said that she had only lately come to understand the liturgical calendar, which meant we were now marking the end of the twelve days of Christmas and the... Read More
January 8, 2024 —
Do you ever wonder what things we do or accept today that may be condemned by subsequent generations? Car culture and fossil fuel use for sure. We look back, these days, pretty clear about the “sins of the fathers.” That is, the sins and failures of those no longer living. We now agree, for example,... Read More
January 3, 2024 —
I began ordained ministry in the mid-1970’s. I know . . . a long time ago. It soon became apparent to me that my part of church world — liberal or mainline Protestantism — faced big challenges. So much so that a better word for us than “mainline” was “sideline.” We had the problem of... Read More
January 1, 2024 —
My last post dwelt on the dangers of extremists, not only in Israel and Palestine, but also here at home in these United States. Those dangers are real, as are plenty of others. Nevertheless, are there also reasons for being (cautiously) optimistic as we enter upon 2024? Perhaps sensing a bleak mood among their readers,... Read More
December 30, 2023 —
Readers may have noticed that after devoting several blogs to the Israel — Hamas War in the wake of October 7, I haven’t written more on that topic. It is not for a lack of concern. It is that I am mindful just how easy it is to offer opinions from a safe distance. I... Read More
December 28, 2023 —
It’s that time of the year, isn’t it, for resolutions? Like others, I’ve put on a few (more than a few) unwanted pounds while enjoying the holidays. And I have a few other habits that verge in the direction of addictive and need attention. Not to mention the logjams that happen in relationships, and justice... Read More
December 26, 2023 —
We were among those taking in the the movie, “Boys in the Boat,” on a rainy Christmas Day as it premiered in Seattle. The theater was packed, which is unusual but not surprising, given that the film is about the 1936 University of Washington Huskies crew team that won the gold medal in the Olympics... Read More
December 22, 2023 —
As happens every seven years, the Fourth Sunday of Advent falls this year on Christmas Eve, which makes for a busy day for clergy, choirs, musicians and all the folks who support the life of worship in a congregation, from the janitors, to the people who print and fold the bulletins, and those who set... Read More
![Anthony B. Robinson [logo]](https://www.anthonybrobinson.com/wp-content/themes/anthonybrobinson/images/logo.png){kind=logo}
![Anthony B. Robinson [logo]](https://www.anthonybrobinson.com/wp-content/themes/anthonybrobinson/images/logo-print.png){kind=logo}