Category Archives: Paying Attention

The Wild Wild West (Bank)

Posted on June 22, 2014 by hessd

Yesterday, June 20, four Presbyterians at the church’s annual national meeting, voted for divestiture.  Had they not, the church’s motion would have failed again—as it did last year, by two votes—but because they did, it passed this year by seven … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Giving up haggis for Lent

Posted on March 21, 2014 by hessd

I’d like to think about “giving up X for Lent” today.  I am honestly respectful of the notion that additional resources ought to be devoted to experiencing Lent—the dark season of the church—fully.  I am pretty open-minded about just how … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Paying Attention, Theology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Having a Miserable Job

Posted on February 15, 2014 by hessd

Isn’t it just amazing what we learn to be satisfied with? We think, sometimes, that living the way we do is inevitable.[1]  Or we think that doing what we would have to do to live otherwise would be wrong or … Continue reading →

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In Florida, Oceans and Premiums Rise Together

Posted on November 21, 2013 by hessd

When I was in grad school at Oregon, I read a footnote that changed my thinking forever.  It was in Robert Heilbroner’s An Inquiry into the Human Prospect.  The text, as I recall it, was talking about how we were … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Tanya Luhrmann, Halloween, and Ghost Pets

Posted on November 1, 2013 by hessd

I want to begin this consideration of paranormal experiences with the first line of the Wikipedia entry under T. M. Luhrman.[1] “Tanya Marie Luhrmann (born 1959) is an American psychological anthropologist best known for her studies of modern-day witches, charismatic … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Paying Attention, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

If It’s Not About the Nail, What IS it About?

Posted on June 27, 2013 by hessd

With any luck at all, I will embed a wonderful short clip called “It’s Not About the Nail” in this post.  If it doesn’t work, I recommend that you Google “It’s not about the nail” and enjoy the following 78 … Continue reading →

Posted in Love and Marriage, Paying Attention, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hearing God’s Voice

Posted on June 25, 2013 by hessd

How do you go about “hearing God’s voice?”  I’m not sure, to tell you the truth.  It isn’t anything I’ve ever been good at.  It may be that I just don’t have the basic capacity.  Or it may be that … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Paying Attention, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Skeptification

Posted on June 19, 2013 by hessd

We don’t always have at hand the words we need most.  A lot of people, facing this difficulty, chose a word with meanings close to what they need and call it good enough.  People who are more confident in their … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Words | Leave a comment

Narrative Integrity, Jesus and Allison

Posted on March 17, 2013 by hessd

I want to write about the character of Jesus today.  I admit I have a grievance and blogging about it seems to help.  The pivot point, the point I will keep returning to until I start to feel better, can … Continue reading →

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Groundhog Day

Posted on June 25, 2012 by hessd

Phil Connors has this problem.  Every year, as Groundhog Day draws near, he feels the bile piling up in his stomach.  Every year, it is the same. You go to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and watch a bunch of bozos haul an … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Paying Attention | Tagged , , | 2 Comments