Denise Rector

[1] I was intrigued to receive Douglas John Hall’s theological autobiography because his is a name I have long been aware of, but about whose life and theology I knew virtually nothing – except from a couple of small things he wrote ages ago. I was conscious that he was a Canadian but other than […]

[1] Douglas John Hall describes Bound and Free as his attempt “at the end of this long apprenticeship to say something publicly about what I have found this vocation [theology] to entail” (page xi). Within that purpose statement stand the two words and concepts that become the most interesting reflection point of this work: theology […]

[1] Douglas John Hall, noted for his Theology of the Cross, has written an autobiography detailing the evolution of his theological framework from his childhood in Canada to present day. It is a short work for someone wanting a quick understanding of how current-day mainstream liberal theologians developed their theology and their worldview. [2] The […]

Eliot Spitzer and Barack Obama reveal sharply divergent attitudes toward human community. Which one do Americans really want … or understand? [1] Don’t get me wrong. What Eliot Spitzer did is reprehensible. But my first reaction to the scandal was not, “throw the bum out.” [2] The former New York governor climbed the political ladder […]

[1] The fall of yet another politician on grounds of marital infidelity is nothing new, but it is always news. It is also tiresome and upsetting, for we would like to think that our elected officials are decent people whose character would not allow this kind of conduct. It prompts some thoughts about personal morality […]

[1] March 13, 2008, the public release date of the ELCA’s Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality, was not a date I had noted on my calendar. I confess that I was not paying much attention to the release of this draft, at least until two weeks ago when I was asked to be one […]

[1] I couldn’t stop myself even though I knew the interest was purely prurient–I was continually tuning in to cnn.com awaiting the final blow to Eliot Spitzer’s political career. It’s not just because I’m from NY. I think it’s more knowing of Spitzer’s reputation as a moral crusader, thinking that surely he would run for […]

[1] After they’ve read his compelling spiritual autobiography, I ask my students the obvious question: “What is Augustine confessing?” To a person they reply: “His sins.” To be sure, Augustine recounts his sins in vivid detail. But Gilbert Meilaender offers a second answer: “His love of God.” Moreover, Augustine confesses from a nature that is […]

[1] Gilbert Meilaender begins his engaging reflections on The Way that Leads There by quoting a child’s grave marker: Dear Jesus You know that I love you Take me to yourself (1). With these simple words Meilaender leads readers into a profound discussion of the moral life. The marker, he notes, expresses a human neediness […]

[1] On the first page of Meilaender’s book, The Way that Leads There, he dedicates the work to Jonathan, Charlotte, Miriam, and Veronika, and just beneath their names he offers a quotation from Augustine-Ibi vacabinums et videbimus, videbimus et amabimus, amabimus et laudabimus[1]–“We shall be still and see, shall see and love, shall love and […]