Meditations in the National Parks comes from my learning in nature. Inspired by contemplative spirituality, I’ve meditated and taken notes in the parks. This series is the formation of those meditations. All words and photographs are my own. Saguaro: Dance Desolation contains abundant life. Easy as it may be to simply acknowledge this terrain as desert …
Grey (Badlands)
Meditations in the National Parks comes from my learning in nature. Inspired by contemplative spirituality, I've meditated and taken notes in the parks. This series is the formation of those meditations. All words and photographs are my own. As I trod through the Badlands, the greyness overcame me. Grey ahead of me, grey behind me. …
Lessons from Picard on Social Distancing & Friendship
March 24th brings the finale of Star Trek: Picard, the series in which Sir Patrick Stewart returns to the famous, titular character. The world in which we now inhabit is starkly different than the on in which Picard premiered a mere ten weeks ago. For the premiere, I hosted a watch party. For the finale, …
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The Chain of Command
The two-part “Chain of Command” is often hailed as one of The Next Generation’s best. It starts off with an absolute shock. Picard is relieved of his command of the Enterprise before the opening credits. Immediately after, there is no slowing down. Riker meets the new captain, an Edward Jellico, who is in charge of …
The Inner Light
I’ve had relative ease writing this series examining the character of Picard. I know the episodes of The Next Generation well. I’ve seen them countless times throughout my life. Yet no episode is as unique as “The Inner Light”, and I’ve been dreading how I’m going to approach this particular element of Picard. By now, …
I, Borg
Unlike one of the later iterations, such as Star Trek: Voyager, The Next Generation never delved too deeply into Borg mythology. This less-is-more approach enhanced the mystery and dangerous nature of the Borg. When they appeared, the Borg brought a thrilling and existential threat to our main crew. Anything after “The Best of Both Worlds” …
The Drumhead
Principled values show their strength when they are tested. This is the case in “The Drumhead”, as an admiral comes onboard to investigate a possible sabotage on the Enterprise and a potential larger threat to the Federation. There was, indeed, an incident, and an implicated spy onboard. This concluded rather quickly, leaving us to realize …
The Best of Both Worlds
“The Best of Both Worlds” operates as an outlier to this examination of Picard episodes. While the story of what occurs centers on Picard and the assault that he receives from the Borg, this two-parter is ostensibly focused on Commander Riker. From beginning to end, it deals with Riker’s readiness and overall qualifications of captaincy. …
Picard: A Reflection of a Character
For as long as my memory can recall, Star Trek has been a part of my life. As incomplete as early memory can be, there are vivid recollections of time watching Trek with my mom. I was seven years-old when Star Trek: Generations released in theatersin the fall of 1994, and that theater-going experience is …
Reflections on 2019 in Film
Michael's Top 10 of 2019 Over the past five or six years, I’ve found myself surrounded by friends who have a love for the art of film. We hit the spectrum on what we see and enjoy. We’re there for a lot of the franchise films - the Marvels and Star Warses - but particularly …
What’s Next
It's been a while, hasn't it? For the past year, I have been a wilderness season. This period is a conglomerate of happenstance and intentionality. While trying to decide some next steps for myself in a fluid world, I likewise recognized a need for me to take a step back to listen, reflect, learn. Part of …
The Sacred Art of Shutting Up
Over the past six months or so, I have intentionally withdrawn from much of the public dialogue and writing that I had become accustomed to over the past few years. Practicality played a role in this decision. I was in the last phase of completing the manuscript for my first book, which consumed much of …
‘mother!’ and the Honest Portrayal of Christian Living
By the time the end credits roll on Darren Aronofosky’s new film, mother!, you sit speechless in your seat, nearly paralyzed, by what you just experienced. And there is no more appropriate word to describe this film than experience. Make no mistake, this is not a fun film. Hell, it's not even enjoyable. Yet in all its …
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Theology of Fear
At the close of 2016, it seemed as if people everywhere were clamoring for the year to end and for a new year to begin. I was less optimistic. The negative energy, the constant yelling, dividing communities, and rabid fear didn't seem like it would stop simply because the calendar page flipped. And it didn't. …
When the President Prays…
Lately I have made an effort to read articles & op-eds from those whose political and social views differ from my own. I often start with Drudge Report as it links to many news sites, most of which are right-leaning. Last week Drudge grabbed my attention by promoting an article which suggested that Bible studies were …
Find Your Desert Space
As I've begun to study the mystics in recent years, I've naturally been drawn to the idea of solitude as a method of prayer and meditation. Growing up in a religious setting where prayer was narrowed to a communal activity where what one said mattered most, the adjustment to contemplative prayer in solitude has been …
The Man in the Doorway
Like I do early each Sunday morning, I walked out of my apartment to take a contemplative walk around Denver's Cheesman Park. Complete with coffee in hand, the bright Sunday morning sun shined through my apartment window inviting me into a needed quiet space in the middle of a normally busy city. The normalcy only …
In Politics, There is No Forgiveness
I recently returned to everyday life from a week-long solo excursion into the the beautiful desert of Utah. It has long been a dream to visit Zion National Park. Its remoteness brought closeness with God and self. Its silence spoke loudly to my soul. Its stillness brought forth peace to my being. Perhaps one of …
Evangelicalism’s Trump Problem
A recent article from the Washington Post reveals that 14% of evangelicals have left their church community after the election of Donald Trump. This blow to church attendance and membership may, in fact, grow if the Church continues to pledge allegiance to Republican power. It would be unfair and untrue to suggest that politics do …
Merton’s Guide through Political Unrest
"The greatest need of our time," Thomas Merton said, "is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds and makes of all the political and social life a mass illness. Without this housecleaning we cannot begin to see." Like many, I have bought into the political rhetoric of 21st …
There’s No Charge for Kindness
About a week before Christmas I was walking out of a store along Colfax Avenue in Denver. Unexpected snow had fallen a few days prior, making many of the sidewalks slippery. In a rush, I walked swiftly out of the store and less than a block later found myself momentarily airborne as a patch of …
Media & Individuality in the Age of Fake News
It is no surprise that in an age of post-truth that fake news flourishes. When facts become trivial and discredited by our personal biases, we become easily swayed by what we want to believe. The compelling nature that truth should possess is ignored.
Help! Trump is Coming to Thanksgiving!
To keep you growing is to keep you vulnerable to life and love itself. -Richard Rohr, The Divine Dance Two weeks after the presidential election, the yelling and fighting continues. It's not outlandish or hyperbolic to think that this will continue for some time, long past the inauguration in January. For many, the election may cause …
‘Arrival’ and the Beauty of Communication
As is common each year for a close group of friends and I, we have begun our theater tour of all the films generating Oscar buzz. It’s a ritual we enjoy. We view good films, drink beer, and have excellent conversation regarding the films we see. This past week, we saw Arrival, a science fiction …
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Nomad: A Review
Vulnerability. I hope that’s an alternative title Brandan Robertson considered for his excellent first book, Nomad. Perhaps for many of you, Brandan needs no introduction. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, Brandan is the Executive Director of Nomad Partnerships and is a frequent contributor to major outlets such as Patheos, Huffington Post, & …
The King & the Maiden: Kierkegaard’s Christmas Parable
I'm largely going to leave this post to Kierkegaard's own words from his famous "The King & the Maiden" parable from his book, Philosophical Fragments. I do want to offer a few cursory thoughts as to why this parable is significant for us this Christmas season. Invoking "The King & the Maiden" is not new …
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O Come, Emmanuel
As my roommate and I were finishing our meal at a restaurant in Denver last night, a trio of women came and sat at the open spot at the communal table at which we were dining. We exchanged some brief pleasantries, and at one point one of the women started talking about her colleague who …
The Sacred Space of Absence
The desert is a vacancy. It is a place of silence. It is harsh, both in its design and its impact. Yet even in a place as treacherous as the desert, one finds resilience. And it’s beautiful. The thing about the desert, as with all nature, is its welcome embrace of those who find themselves …
Shut Up & Learn to Listen
I’m a white, straight, middle-class, American male. These demographic features have awarded me a lot of privilege and paths to success (even though I would not consider myself “successful” by society’s standards). These demographics have, by and large, led to a life free of any real persecution and hardship that many others who have different …
Embracing Empathy, Embracing Liberation
I've lately been reflecting on the relationship between liberation, empathy, and how we view others. In our internet age, we so often quickly succumb to mocking others in their very public failures. Whether it is a celebrity or sports star who has made a poor choice leading to public shame or yet another political scandal, …
Learning about Christ from an Unlikely Source
One of the glorious things about studying philosophy and theology is that sometimes you find allies in unlikely places. Lately, the “antichrist” himself – Friedrich Nietzsche has become a bit of a refuge with an interpretation of certain aspects of the Gospels. As I’ve been re-reading through Miroslav Volf’s marvelous text Exclusion & Embrace as …
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Have We Become Numb to Stories of Violence?
Like most days, I spent my lunch on Thursday outside browsing some of my favorite websites. As I clicked my browser on I, like many, read early reports of yet another school shooting, this time in Oregon. And then I casually moved on to another site. And then I stopped. My immediate thought was not …
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Loving With
I've once again been reflecting and reading through Kierkegaard's Works of Love. In it, he discusses the duty Christians have to Love one another. This is the greatest commandment, and one which should be elevated above all other instructions. Kierkegaard spends a great amount of time explaining his discourse on Love. It should be noted …
What’s Wrong with the Way We Communicate?
I had the opportunity to get away from Denver for a few days and travel. Part of my journey was some quiet time of reading and reflection along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. I was able to unplug a bit, which was needed. There seems to be so much yelling amongst communities nowadays, and …
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A Response to CT’s Mark Galli
Earlier this afternoon, Christianity Today editor Mark Galli published a short article entitled "2 Billion Christians Believe in Traditional Marriage." As the overzealous title suggests, Galli's central premise is that orthodox Christians only endorse a view of marriage that is defined between a man and a woman. Galli attempts to downplay Tony Campolo's recent call …
“There’s Only One God … And He Doesn’t Dress Like that.”
There's a scene in The Avengers where Captain America is about to jump out of a jet to intervene in a conflict between Iron Man and Thor. Prior to his jump, the Black Widow cautions against this intervention, because Iron Man and Thor are essentially gods. Captain America shrugs this off, "There's only one God, ma'am, …
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The Engagement of Suffering
"Well, your suffering isn't like Job's..." Ever hear something along those lines? Frankly, I think it is largely an ignorant statement. Suffering is hard. What compounds the hardship is the difficulty by which we try to engage people when suffering occurs. It takes courage to admit struggle and suffering. If it is met with a …
Being “Ethical” & Ethical Knowledge
There is a short passage in Kierkegaard's Judge For Yourself! that has recently garnered my attention. While my interest in Kierkegaard is many, the focus of my research is on Kierkegaard's epistemology. Often, however, the epistemology of Kierkegaard's authorship surrounds the ethical-religious spheres, thereby placing interest in the subjective. In every human being there is …
On Subjectivity
I often speak of the value of subjective truth, the truths by which are related to one's self, inwardness, and basic desires and passions. Many who hear that I value subjective truth often quickly draw a conclusion that I am against objective truth, or, that I do not believe in objective truth. Both of these …
Cultural Indictment: The New Star Trek
I've been a lifelong science fiction fan, especially so of the Star Trek franchise. As a kid, I was drawn to the stories and to the ability to use reason to guide humanity past difficulties and solve complex problems (though I could not put such words to it as a child). As an adult, I …
Freedom & Responsibility
I take the title of this post from a chapter of Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism and Human Emotions. While Sartre is often drug over the steaming hot coals, I do find some meaning in his writings. Sartre purports that man is "condemned to be free" thereby endorsing ultimate human freedom. It must be noted that the …
On Public Discourse & Debate
I've been rereading Robert Roberts and W. Jay Wood's Intellectual Virtues: An Essay in Regulative Epistemology (New York: Oxford, 2007) in preparation for some academic speaking engagements that I have over the next few months. The book examines, as the title suggests, how one must be intellectually virtuous. A few short pages of the text …
Despair:Sin
Each individual is freedom essentially. Each person is free to chose oneself. This could lead to a flourishing life, or a life of continual bondage, which ultimately restricts one's freedom. There comes a time (or, many times) in one's life in which one finds oneself in a crux. The variables will change as much is …
“In These Times Politics is Everything”
In the preface to The Single Individual, Soren Kierkegaard utters a statement not only relevant to his immediate circumstances, but one that transcends the immediacy of 1800s Denmark: "In these times politics is everything." Denmark was in a transition from absolute monarchy to parliamentary monarchy - a radical change of political system. Kierkegaard was not …
The Subjectivity of Objective Truth
Countless hours have been spent searching for, arguing for, and defending objective truth. I believe in objective truth, and in some capacity, objective truth can be known. I believe God to be an objective truth. He can be known by me, and by anyone else, not through mere objectivity, but a subjective search of this …
Identity, The Self, & Conversion
Trans - Prefix, denotes moving beyond a certain state or object. Identity - The fact of Being; the substance of what something is. As an existential philosopher I am immediately concerned with the development of the Self. The Self, following Kierkegaard, is a created Being, one which Becomes and fulfills its existential desires. Yet the …
Kierkegaard and the Contradictory Incarnation
Many attack Kierkegaard for saying that the incarnation is a contradiction and that Kierkegaard embraces paradox by faith alone. I wish here to argue that these things are wildly misunderstood and Kierkegaard’s view of the incarnation is neither heretical nor absurd, but rather a stance that ought to be taken seriously. In Philosophical Fragments, Kierkegaard …
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Faith and Uncertainty
There are certain things we know. We know that the planet is round. We know that 2 + 2 = 4. We know that gravity prohibits us from floating off the ground and into Earth’s atmosphere. This knowledge is grounded on facts, scientific or logical facts, about reality and the way it operates. We also …
Experience-Based Knowledge and Logical Problems
A fellow student and myself found ourselves in a perplexing situation in a recent theology class. Another person in class proposed that it is acceptable to live with logical inconsistencies in one’s worldview so long as the Bible supersedes the inconsistency itself. Here we found ourselves in a culture war reduced to one conversation. It …
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Transition (Great Basin)
Meditations in the National Parks comes from my learning in nature. Inspired by contemplative spirituality, I’ve meditated and taken notes in the parks. This series is the formation of those meditations. All words and photographs are my own. It is summer as we leave Denver. It is winter as we pass the western Colorado mountains. Summer …
Darmok
Have you ever been in a situation where you and another person simply don’t understand each other? I’m not talking about a mere disagreement of a difference of perspective, but a deep misunderstanding because of communication? That is the situation Picard finds himself in during “Darmok”, though perhaps the challenge facing him as tenfold. Picard …
Family
Picard’s assimilation saga, in my mind, is not restricted to “The Best of Both Worlds”. It continues into the eighth film, Star Trek: First Contact, but in-between there are two fundamental episodes that deal with Picard’s experience, “I, Borg”, which will be explored elsewhere, and “Family”. If “The Best of Both Worlds” is a Riker …
Former Aspiring Philosopher 