This is an alphabetized list, with brief topical descriptions, of most of the posts on this blog. (A couple of very brief, non-topical posts are omitted.) To list only posts relating to a specific topic, you may use the Categories drop-down in the right sidebar of any page. For a chronological listing, simply scroll down (patiently) on the home page.
A Message in Time of War – ministry after the U.S. invasion of Iraq
A Non-theist’s Ash Wednesday Meditation – on death and life
A Peculiar Priesthood – a Quaker view, contrasted with the Roman Catholic doctrine, of priesthood
A Post[-]modern Disclaimer — what I mean by “postmodern”
A Quaker Easter Meditation on John 20:1-23
A Quaker Reading of John 4:1-42 – Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well
A Quaker Reading of 1 John 4 – The basis of Quaker universalism: “whoever lives in love lives in God and God lives in them”
A Quaker’s Christmas Reflection — the first law of the spiritual life
A Reason for Persecution– what made the first Quakers dangerous to the status quo?
A Song of Experience – A critique of “experientialism,” the doctrine that special religious/mystical experiences are essential for Quakers
A Word of Pneuma: a Meditation Inspired by Adoration– reading Quaker tradition and Jean-Luc Nancy together
An Alien in a Liberal-Liberal Land? – part of a critique of liberal Quakerism
An Analytic Perspective on Quaker Spirituality — applies a simplified concept of repression, the defining characteristic of neurosis, to help illuminate the core of Quaker spirituality.
Answering That of God – a critical analysis of the popular phrase
“Answering That of God” as Revolutionary Praxis – on the inner revolution that begins Quaker life
Antiquaker: Further Reflections on the Dark Side of Liberal Quakerism
Archaic Torso of Christ – riffing on Rilke
Asylum Memories – recalling my first job in mental health
Bonhoeffer as Quaker? – ethics and pacifism in Bonhoeffer and early Quakerism
Book Review: Following Jesus – a critique of a book espousing Evangelical Quakerism
By His Wounds We Are Healed – transfiguration through suffering for love’s sake
Christ Within You: a Quaker Manifesto – the working of the Light in the heart
Concerning Love – a brief but powerful essay by Isaac Penington
Confessing Together that Christ Is Come – a point of convergence for all Quakers?
Continuing Revelation, “What Canst Thou Say?” and Speaking One’s Truth – George Fox’s challenge to our self-image
Days of Visitation – assessing my life
Dehiscence – “My heart was cloven, and its flower appeared.”
Delusion, Quaker Worship, & Spiritual Life – worship as openness to the real
Dominion and the Children of God – Who are the children of God who are given dominion?
Endarkenment – enlightenment and the lack thereof
Excess, Violence, and Us– our environmental abuse
Eye Hath Not Seen – longing for justice
Failure – a personal reflection on failure and hope
Faith and Practice – a post about their unity
Faith and Practice in a Nutshell – some very concise vocal ministry
Faith and Practice for the 21st Century – my attempt at writing a book of Faith & Practice
For Father John – a good priest in a compromised church
For Jack Sharp – a very brief appreciation of a beautiful life
From Silence to Peace: A Brief Guide to Quaker Logos Spirituality — via Mother Teresa
From Water and Spirit – the story of Nicodemus and baptism in light of Genesis 1:1-5
George Fox Series – a 9-part analysis of Fox’s “conversion” according to his Journal
George Fox’s Marriage Proposal – Fox’s suggestion for how marriages should be celebrated
Gnosis of the Heart – the opening of the heart
I Am the Way – many paths up the mountain?
If Love Flows Through Us – love cannot be possessed
“I know what it’s like to be dead”– reflections on death (first post)
In The Hand of God – “Early Quaker theology centered in what Orthodox Christians call theosis ….”
In/Fallibility, Non/Judgmentalism, and Quaker Spirituality– Quaker infallibility and judgmentalism, early and late
John Woolman and the Pandemic — Why did the “Quaker saint” John Woolman decline smallpox innoculation?
Judged by Jesus – How would Jesus judge my life?
Kairos: A Meditation on Some Words of Mary Oliver
Law, Love, and Liberty – living from love rather than law
Light, Right, and Unity – unity even in disagreement
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself? — Does Jesus teach that we must love ourselves before we can love our neighbor?
Metanarrative & Metanoia in Zen & Quakerism – the two as critiques of normality
Miracle and Sense – Must the world make sense?
Missional Life – “To be missional must be to live ‘in Christ.'”
Modern Liberal Quakerism – a brief beginning for a critique
No Salvation – giving up hope of salvation: a journal entry from 1988
Of Smiles, Secrets, Strawberries, Sunyata – life as a falling through void
On Being Peaceful – reflections on my motivations for acting for peace
On Extended Wings – reflections on aging
Only Love Remains – faith and hope end, but love remains: a meditation on 1 Cor. 13
Outside of the Text – reflections inspired by a passage from John Berger’s Bento’s Sketchbook
Perfect Poverty: a Quaker’s Koan? – Watching the concept of spiritual attainment deconstruct ….
Perfection and Pacifism – Why did George Fox refuse military service?
“Primitive Christianity Revived” – Christianity as protest against natural selection
Quaker Convincement and Experiment with Light
Quaker Faith and Practice for the 21st Century – My attempt to create a book of Faith and Practice
Quaker Theology in Brief – a proposal for a minimalist, four-point theological basis for Quakerism
Quaker Worship as Act of Courage – “worship in spirit and in truth” as disruptive experience
Questioning Quakerism as Mysticism – Did George Fox have a classic mystical experience? Should Quakers be mystics?
Resurrection? – an analysis of the rise of the resurrection faith
Re-wiring for Love – more on Christianity as protest against selection
Saving Selving – reflections on a poem by Gerard Manly Hopkins
“Silent Ways of Knowing,” by Maggie Ross – a reprint of an essay by the Anglican solitary
Simone Weil, the Trinity, and Quaker Worship – vocal ministry
Special Experiences and Visions – vocal ministry on the relative unimportance of special experiences
Sunyata: an Unorthodox Experience – living in “emptiness”
Tears of Fire – transcription of brief vocal ministry on apocalypse and hope
Text and Antitext – reflections on the marginalization of others
“That of God” and the Other – How does our belief affect our ethic?
“That of God”: a Quaker Reading of Romans 1:16-20
That of God, Spirit, and Light ― Lite – further critique of liberal Quakerism
“That of God,” the Light, etc.: the Dynamism of Quaker Imagery — on not objectifying Quaker tropes
The Church, the Draft Board, and Me (Table of Contents & Introduction) – A sketch of my evolution, despite encounters with predatory priests and a vindictive draft board, from youthful candidate for the Catholic priesthood to adult a-theistic Quaker who still asserts that “God is love.”
The Darkness of Mother Teresa – Part 1 – Part 1 of a book review essay
The Darkness of Mother Teresa – Part 2 – Part 2 of a book review essay
The First Step of Peace – “The first step of peace is to stand still ….”
The Fruit of the Spirit – “Sometimes when the Christ-light within wants fruit from us, it’s just not a good time ….”
The Heart of Quakerism – reflections on being a Quaker
The Light Within as Sword – vocal ministry based on a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews
The One Who Is to Come? – vocal ministry from 1994
The Power of Suffering Love: James Nayler and Robert Rich
The Psychology of Salvation: Recovering, Reframing, and Reclaiming the Early Quaker Experience
The Publican, the Quarisee, and Christ – “Two guys walk into a house of worship ….”
The Religion of the Broken-Hearted – Quakerism as a religion of the heart
The Sacrament of Peace – reflections on our identity as peacemakers
The Turning of the Wheel (1): Jesus as Poet – the poet of the Kingdom
The Turning of the Wheel (2): Buddhism and Quakerism – a comparison
The Zen of Quakerism – “You have a heart. Use it.”
“To All Friends” — an Adaptation – A 21st-century adaptation of George Fox’s Epistle CXXX
Three Aspects of Metanarrative – a very brief look at religion as metanarrative
Understanding Quaker Worship – the nature and power of Quaker worship
Variation on a Theme by Bernanos – reflections on loving
“What Canst Thou Say?” — Paraphrase with Commentary
Worship, Ministry, and Narcissism — Vocal ministry about worship and vocal ministry
Worship, Nontheism, & Convergence – Quaker convergence: the point of unity
Wrestling with Nothingness – reflections on death (second post)
Writing a Faith and Practice – difficulties in Baltimore Yearly Meeting
The Postmodern Quaker 