Why I am … Catholic

This series is intended to celebrate the ways I have been influenced by various Christian traditions and movements. It involves a lot of ‘positive-positive’ polarities, things we often think of as opposites but are better served by being in creative tension with each other. Today’s post resolves two such polarities set up last week, being … Continue reading Why I am … Catholic

Why I am … Western

In the most recent post in this series celebrating different aspects of the Christian tradition, I talked about why I identify as ‘Eastern’, how its whole ethos and approach to doing church and theology offers a helpful alternative to the West. But, as the say, you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your … Continue reading Why I am … Western

Why I am … Eastern

This series, ‘A Renewed Generous Orthodoxy’, is all about how I as a Christian today identify with different traditions and movements. Last week I talked about being ‘traditional’ in broad strokes. But of course Christianity is, and has always been, a big tent. At its best, this has been understood as a healthy diversity; at … Continue reading Why I am … Eastern

Why I Am … Progressive

This series is about finding a way forward theologically by celebrating the strengths of different Christian traditions or movements. Last time, I explored the value of Tradition — how it means we don’t have to reinvent the wheel in every generation, how it challenges our assumptions, deepens our understanding and experience of God, and how … Continue reading Why I Am … Progressive

Why I am … Traditional

A few years ago I was talking to a colleague about the value of pleasure. He was a proud hedonist, believing pleasure to be the ultimate good, while I — while certainly valuing pleasure — was more skeptical of it. To support my position, I brought in not only contemporary insights from psychology (hedonic adaptation … Continue reading Why I am … Traditional