Category Archives: Theology

Hector lives

Posted on November 28, 2020 by hessd

There are so many things to like about Steven Spielberg, but among those I cherish his one-liner about The Terminal.  A reporter asked him whether the part of Viktor Navorski (played by Tom Hanks) was “a Christ story.”  I didn’t … Continue reading →

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Heaven as dessert

Posted on February 10, 2020 by hessd

I don’t think this is a totally crazy metaphor. I think it’s mostly crazy. Let me deal first with the instance in which I think it is not crazy. The way heaven is pictured in some of the slave songs … Continue reading →

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Nicholas Kristof interview me

Posted on April 22, 2019 by hessd

Not really, of course.  Why would he care how I answer his questions?  Still, he asks a lot of people these same questions, so I thought I might just take my turn.  And it is, after all, the day after Easter. … Continue reading →

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On being God’s prophet

Posted on December 27, 2018 by hessd

Here is a series of reflections on the “emptying out” that so often—necessarily?—precedes the giving of God’s word to a prophet. And maybe more than a prophet, as well. Here, for instance is how Amos was called (Amos 7:14,15) 14 … Continue reading →

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Am I going somewhere?

Posted on December 18, 2018 by hessd

Where I live there are lots of old people, so, of course, there are a lot of deaths. I have written recently about the effect the high number of deaths has on how we take note of deaths and on how … Continue reading →

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The Apostles Cred

Posted on August 4, 2018 by hessd

In just a little while, I am honestly going to think about the Apostles Creed.  But I just want to savor first, the juxtaposition of “cred” as in “street cred” and “creed,” a word that could hardly be more different … Continue reading →

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The Episcopal Ghost from Hell

Posted on May 19, 2018 by hessd

I have been a fan of C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce for a long time. I have appreciated it the way a reader of fiction appreciates, and since I have taught courses using it as a text, I have … Continue reading →

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Final Rest

Posted on May 16, 2018 by hessd

It took me roughly a year to decide to get a tattoo. It took something like 5—7 minutes to actually get the tattoo. Here it is. I am amazed, as I look back at this simple process, to think that … Continue reading →

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Karl Barth and Ergophobia

Posted on May 7, 2018 by hessd

I want to think today about ergophobia. [1] I mean by this term not the familiar “fear of work,” (illustrated by the man hiding under the desk, below) but more a “fear of works righteousness.” The mainstay of Christian theology … Continue reading →

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The Disadvantages of Hell

Posted on April 23, 2018 by hessd

However you think of Hell, it is mostly not a good place to be. Whether it is a fiery final abode, as in some cases, or a shadowy realm of the once-living, as in others, or as in C. S. … Continue reading →

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