What is God’s Judgment? And what isn’t God’s judgment? — Religious systems have a complicated relationship with judgment. It’s quite useful for affirming one’s beliefs and condemning others. It’s necessary to determine status, value, and inclusion amongst communities. Yet, it’s also not something one is supposed to do — even though it happens all the time. Do not judge, right? …

The religious tendency of navigating a complicated world according to Emile Durkheim — Summary: Society often appears static but, in reality, society is a conglomeration of history’s process of becoming which resulted in a variety of norms, patterns, and structures. Emile Durkheim claimed such a process was the result of society’s innate pursuit of the ideal. …

The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, & the Lost Son of Luke 15 — There are few Biblical narratives that have captured the attention of history and pop culture more than Jesus’ parables in the Gospel of Luke. The Good Samaritan, the Great Banquet, the wineskins, the Rich Fool, the Persistent Widow. …

An open letter to high school graduates. Fortunately, your story is just getting started. — Graduation from high school was one of the most uneventful experiences of my life. Believe it or not, high school is not wonderful, meaningful, or beneficial for all who walk those troubled halls. I imagine there are some who in 2020 when they were told in-person schooling was done for the foreseeable future due to COVID, celebrated. Believe it or not, there are high…

The only advice I can offer as your journey continues after high school. — Dear Graduate: Psychologists say that the human brain has two major seasons of development. The first is when you are young — the prenatal and early childhood stages. Psychologists frequently discuss the necessity of developing a baby’s brain when they are young and prescribe that you ought to read to them, play…

And three responses for being less so. — Marshall McLuhan used technology to describe our world quite poignantly. He used the phrase media (which became central to his theory of Media Ecology), but the summary is that the human journey is one of experiencing the world, sensing our limitations, and extending our capabilities. A cycle begins. We extend…

On accepting and overcoming psychological asymmetry through community and vulnerability. — Where are the people?” resumed the little prince at last. “It’s a little lonely in the desert…” “It is lonely when you’re among people, too,” said the snake. For the last two years, I have spent New Year’s Eve alone. There are certain occasions where loneliness is acceptable to society…

Finding the benefits of loneliness in a very lonely world. — Introduction — Ubiquitous Loneliness I, often, am lonely. Not alone. Not physically estranged from the world. Lonely. I think there’s a difference between the two. I live in a small home with my spouse and three children. Yet, sometimes I sit amongst clanging toys and endless spectacles of joyous, animated television, and I feel…

Tradition, progress, and two perspectives on time — diminishing and progressive. — Introduction — The Age of Pet Rocks Having grown up in the 1990s, the phenomenon of the pet rock eluded my purview. I’ve also noticed that many owners of the pet rock no longer maintain possession of the previously exuberant hobby. This is because the pet rock was a fad.