Mark's Blog

“There are two kinds of movements:  those which seek converts, and those which hunt heretics.”    I read these words  in a recent op-ed by David French, a more conservative opinion writer for the New York Times, quoting his more progressive colleague, Michelle...

People often tell me, with some commitment and considerable pride, that they are spiritual.  That they have moments— on a mountain or at the seashore, or have created spaces in their lives, where they feel a deep connection with the world, each other — and a divine...

I was profoundly irritated, the intensity of which surprised me.  I was watching the semi-final US Open match between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova.   I was relaxed and enjoying their skill and passion, and silently hoping that some of the former might rub off on...

Evil is a problem. And for millenia, philosophers, theologians and novelists have grappled with this problem: what is evil, how did it start, why does it exist, how do we respond? It has been, and continues to be, a confounding intellectual and emotional challenge....

In 2009 journalist Bill Bishop wrote a compelling book, The Big Sort:  Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing us Apart.  Bishop makes the case that over the past several decades people have been living, working, worshipping and vacationing in places...

“No killer statements”, we agreed would be the first rule we would follow in our time together on a retreat with a group of teenagers and a few adult chaperones.  A killer statement was anything that was said that demeaned, dismissed, or denied someone else.  Our...

“Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke,” Office of Management and Budget Director Bert Lance said at a Congressional hearing in 1977.  I don’t remember what the hearing was about, but along with millions of others, I easily recall the phrase.  Most of us don’t refer to it...

“What is truth?”  Pilate asks Jesus. (John 18:38)  I think Pilate really wanted to know.  At that time and place, truth was in short supply.  The world Pilate lived in, and had authority over, was in constant tension.  The higher-ups in Rome didn’t care what Pilate...

“It’s putting purity over progress”, one commentator wrote in response to the Congressional Freedom Caucus’ amendments to the Defense Appropriation Bill.  While the legislation barely cleared the House, analysts have uniformly predicted that the add-ons have no chance...