Author Archives: Sean

Many years ago, while teaching Brokeback Mountain, I was approached by a student who professed that her religious beliefs obligated her to not read a text and to not participate in discussions that normalized what she – as a devout practicing Christian – considered “sinful behavior.” I appreciated her raising the issue with me andContinue reading “On Obedience, Bias and Brokeback Mountain”

I think an obvious argument with respect to my recent post about certainty and right / wrong thinking is captured in the spirit of comments to this old post about getting along and this one about helpful spiritual junctures: if somebody says to me, “hey I think the Holocaust was great,” am I going toContinue reading “A Brief Addenda on Certainty”

I want to think out loud a little about certainty – how and why it arises in thinking, what function it serves, what it produces and so forth. Ultimately, I think certainty is basically a mirage, albeit a harmless one (so long as one is clear it’s a mirage). Say that I want to beContinue reading “Reflecting Uncertainly on Certainty”

Is it possible that the search of the Self or the World or the Lord is confused at the outset? That its very premise is suspect, inevitably contaminating whatever apparently proceeds or emerges from it? Say that I resolve to search for an Xlkerd. I pledge not to rest until I encounter an Xlkerd. MyContinue reading “Examining the Grounds of our Spiritual Search”

I wrote this a few weeks before Christmas and then forgot about it, but while going back through my notes the other day found it again, and liked it. So it’s out of sync with our shared calendar, but you know. Better late – or early, perhaps – than never. *** It is a clicheContinue reading “Quietly Insisting Each Day be Holy”