I've Been Thinking

The Ruminations of a Retired Pastor

  • Patricia Miller’s article at Salon.com

    Patricia Miller, over at Salon.com, makes a point that I’ve been saying/thinking for years: “In other words, white Catholics don’t accept the scientific consensus on climate change because it clashes with their other god: the free market.” Her article is entitled “Why Catholics are rejecting the Pope: They worship the free market now.” Any title Continue reading

  • We beg you pardon

    In case you haven’t heard this, and, you should listen to this, even if it’s dated. Events in Charleston last week made me go back and listen to some of Gil Scott Heron’s stuff, including this one. Always liked this and “The Revolution Will Not be Televised” and “We Almost Lost Detroit” and… Continue reading

  • No, the world as we know it will not end.

    In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling today, 26 June 2015, establishing marriage equality as the law of the land, many have issued dire warnings about the fate of the United States, because of this ruling – “The world as we know it will come to an end.” Some have suggested that God will Continue reading

  • To believe in or to follow?

    To "Call on the Name of the Lord" is not merely to secure a place in heaven, but to join a movement on earth. — Geoff Holsclaw, PhD (@geoffholsclaw) May 29, 2015 Continue reading

  • Never Settling for False Peace

    “When workers start to organize, for instance, they are usually accused of waging class warfare, even though the struggle originates when pressures on workers increase and salaries and benefits are slashed while profits continue to grow. There can be no true peace without bringing to light the divisions that false peace seeks to cover up.” Continue reading

  • Every Christmas, for several years the same ol’ drivel

    I found this image over at Rachel Held Evans blog. She’s had 731 comments! Thank God! There are at least seven hundred of us who get so tired each year of hearing the blather about the “War on Christmas.” Continue reading

  • The poor will be with you always

    Recently,  in an interview with the Washington Post, Governor Rick Perry of Texas suggested that the Bible proves the inevitability of poverty. “’Biblically, the poor are always going to be with us in some form or fashion,’ Perry told the Post.” While Perry could have been referring to several passages, I’m betting that he wasn’t referring to Continue reading

  • Pray without ceasing

    The second reading from the lectionary this week includes 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing.” The Way of a Pilgrim begins with a contemplation on this verse and the continues for the rest of work to examine how it is that we “pray without ceasing.” I thoroughly recommend this work for anyone interested in the interior Continue reading

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  • A first post

    Almost every week, as I prepare my sermon there’s stuff that gets left out. It’s not unusual for me to run up one alley early in the week; then, at the end  of the week the spirit takes me in another direction, sometimes a completely different direction. Later, I’ll look back at a page or two that Continue reading