Grace Available

I've been watching the current war in Isreal with some interest and as I see a mixture of commentary and accusations of war crimes I struggle to know exactly what is true. I will however commit to my position of renouncing war and proclaiming peace.

War is a scam

Unfortunately, whenever I see people in news or other media arguing for why we need to be involved in a war, …

I don't know how long this post will be, but I had a couple of thoughts that I wanted to get out before I move on and they get lost. This morning I was doing some reading in 1 Enoch chapter 7 and I was struck by the description of the great giants.

It can be easy to get stuck on literal descriptions of their attributes, but I think that …

Thomas Merton’s Final Lecture, Bangkok, December 10th, 1968

This is a copy of the final talk given by Thomas Merton before his death. It is presented here for historical reference.

I cannot possibly pretend to be an authority on Marxism. My purpose is perhaps to share with you the kind of thing a monk goes through in his, shall we say, identity crisis. . . the monk, I mean, who …

I have recently been learning about a number of things that lead to trouble. In recent months I have been introduced to ideas like the possibility that some of the apostles may have been involved with the murder of Joseph Smith or that Brigham Young and others may have framed Joseph for introducing polygamy as it was taught and lived under his administration as president of the church in order …

It seems that at every turn I am finding things wrong with the church. The first thing that is troubling is the proliferation of churches that claim to be Christ's church, I have noted in the past that there appears to be nothing more Christian than a good schism. I have started to wonder what kind of reconciliation is going to be required before the saying "If ye are not …

Something has been changing for me in the last year. It has been almost 8 years since the events that made me begin to feel like a heretic. I saw that I was on a path that I recognized could end in accusations of rebellion and eventual excommunication, but I didn't think I was wrong (nobody in this position ever does). Many call this situation a "faith crisis" and it …

I think a lot about the Book of Mormon, the things I have learned from it, and how that has informed my view of the world around me. a compelling part of the story told in the book is that it is presented as historical, though the distinct Nephite and Jaredite civilizations can’t be placed for sure in the archeological record.

If my view of the world has been so …

I woke up this morning and I must say that the subconscious is an interesting place to visit. In the dream I just had I was heading downtown when there was a lot of excitement going on. People were upset and there was a protest or demonstration of some sort that was put together in a large parking lot with a stage and various kinds of seating. The event appeared …

If I could live in my ideal world I think it would be in a place where everyone has enough room to spread out and not bother each other. Close enough to have relationships with your neighbors and be a part of the village, but far enough that you can get the space you need when you need it.

Suburban living is unfortunately a grotesque caricature of that kind of …