In Praise of the Superficial
Getting or going deep may make you a fascist. White Lotus (Season 3) encourages us to celebrate and enjoy superficial pleasures.
Articles for category: Queer Interpretation
March 4, 2025
AI and Miracles: On Protestant & Catholic Turtles
Jessica Riskin's essay, "Turtles All the Way Up," examines free will versus determinism in and through a critical review of Robert Sapolsky's book, *Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will* (2023). She links determinism to Christian theology. The 2024 film *Conclave* parallels this discourse through characters and symbolism, particularly using turtles to represent agency, transformation, and the potential for surprise within material reality.
October 23, 2024
It’s a Fem: Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
In this essay, I argue that Mary is a figure of the Spirit of God. Matthew defines the Spirit in and through Mary, described in and through a tradition of maternal rebellion and survival. Matthew's Jesus, who is of Mary, of the Spirit, incarnates a non-standard, "feminine" messianism. And we will, too—if we are of Jesus.
September 9, 2024
The Irony of Loving Monogamy
II am no apologist for monogamy. Yet, most people desire it for themselves. And most people, even those for whom it seems to be working out well, don't seem to love monogamy. I think that is interesting. Most people don't love monogamy, but yet they still believe in it. So, it is worth asking: What promises to make loving monogamy promising? My answer is irony. Irony is the key to loving monogamy. Or so I will argue in this essay.
August 26, 2024
What does love want? Our in-fidelity.
Kylie Minogue, “All The Lovers” (music video still), 2010. The music video of Kylie Minogue’s hit song, “All the Lovers” (2010) raises two questions for me: 1) What does love want? 2) What can we do about it? Watch the video: The video opens with a cup of coffee falling, splashing empty on the ground (and a man taking off his shirt); a container of milk drops, spilling out on the ground (and two more people take off their clothes), and white marshmallows light on the ground as Minogue sings to her beloved, to her love object: someone who is apparently
June 17, 2024
Possessed by “Demons”
A sermon based on the Gospel of John 19:25-29 (FYI: the word “home” is NOT in the Greek text): * As Jesus is dying on the cross, the disciple he loves—the boy he loves—the one, we are told, who is responsible for the Gospel of John, is on his mind. In the final moments of Jesus’ life, his beloved’s future is his ultimate concern. We don’t know the identity of the man Jesus loved, but what we do know is that he is the only disciple Jesus is explicitly said to have loved. We also know that he is the
Rest From Cruel Dominion: Embracing Mercy on the Sabbath Day
A Sermon Based On Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and Mark 2:23-3:6 [5/20/24: Sermon writing is a laborious process, and most clergy spend a lot of time, in the midst of hospital visits, countless meetings and emails, and other obligations, getting it just right. I posted my first draft of this sermon, to be given June 2nd, on May 15th. It has undergone a lot of changes, but I think I am hitting the right notes now. **Guiding statement: I propose to preach that we rest from cruel dominion, from thwarting animal justice and restoration, and to the end of becoming compassionate and
May 3, 2024
The Social Meaning(s) of Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Lori Lightfoot’s tenure as Chicago mayor is the subject of Gregory Pratt’s The City Is Up For Grabs, which critiques her leadership as chaotic and ultimately bad for the City of Chicago. Using Lightfoot’s ill-fitting suits as a metaphor, this analysis examines her portrayal as a complex political figure, both empowered and constrained by intersecting social perceptions of gender, race, and authority.
April 12, 2024
The N*ew* in the Un*Holy*
* In a recent dream, I was surprised by the appearance of the Greek word for S/spirit, πνεῦμα. It was a well-planned move, coming just after what was a disturbing scene. Another surprise: the ν and εῦ of πνεῦμα reversed places. A third surprise: the meaning of the new word, πεῦνμα, was explicitly spelled out in the dream. In the lexicon of the dream, πεῦνμα means companionship. ** In dreams, unconscious thoughts are translated into consciously recognizable/acceptable forms. The goal of the dream is not to disturb consciousness (because the purpose of dreams is to keep us asleep). If consciousness
