You may notice that I often place meta-titles prior to the title of a piece. Many, for example begin with "Fair Questions:" or "Love it to Death:" which indicates that they belong to a broader category of posts. The "Fair Questions" category is often used because I am trying to approach a disputed or controversial question in a philosophical manner, being as fair as possible (though on occasion I answer Unfair Questions as well). The "Love it to Death" category contains meditations on Christian theology and the Christian life. The "Living on the Mountain" category contains reflections on lessons learned from my grandparents. The "Waking Up" category contains a review of a chapter of Sam Harris' book Waking Up. Et cetera.
Upcoming posts are sometimes listed in advance without a link. The topics are listed alphabetically, and the posts within each topic are listed alphabetically first and then sometimes sorted by chronology within a series.
Abortion
At Year's End
- At Year's End: The Limits of Discipline
- At Year's End: The Triumph of Love
- At Year's End: The Dynamics of Prayer
Atheism
- Albert Camus' Letter to a Christian Europe
- Ancient Atheism: The Saṃsāra of Cārvāka
- Are atheists immune from superstition?
- Dissecting the Debate: Atheists and Theists
- How do people become atheists?
- Is Atheism Becoming a Religion?
- Misunderstanding Atheism
- Nietzsche's Asceticism
- Nietzsche's Anti-Semitism
- Nietzsche's Skepticism
- Surveying the Moral Landscape
- Surveying the Moral Landscape Again
- Thank God for Atheists (Again)
- The Case for Biblical Atheism
- The Death of "Death of God" Theology
- The Four Horsemen of Atheism
- The Gospel of Doubt
- The "War" on Christmas
- The "War" on Christmas Revisited
- What can we learn by living with different assumptions?
- Why is it hard for us to believe that a loving God exists?
- Why was atheism so appealing to me in college?
- Will Reading The Bible Make People Atheists?
Baha'i
Bible
- Catena Aurea: The Curse of Jeconiah
- Catena Aurea: The Two Fathers of Joseph
- Catena Aurea: Conceived of the Holy Spirit
- Catena Aurea: The First Lent
- Catena Aurea: The Brothers of Jesus
- Catena Aurea: Jesus Versus the Pharisees
- Does Hebrews 9 refute the Real Presence and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?
- What are the Biblical alternatives to the perpetual virginity of Mary?
- How could the Old Testament be the Word of God?
- In The Garden of Eden: The New Eve
- In The Garden of Eden: The New Adam
- In The Garden of Eden: The First Sin
- The Fulfillment of the Law: A Holistic Morality
- The Fulfillment of the Law: A Personal Morality
- The Fulfillment of the Law: A Transcendent Morality
- The Poetry of Divine Love
Buddhism
- Does Buddhism have an infancy narrative?
- Does Buddhism have indulgences?
- How did the Buddha become enlightened?
- The Elephant-Path of Enlightenment
- Is Feminism Compatible with Buddhism?
- The Jewels of the Mālā
- The Lion, The Monk, and the Lighthouse
- Was the Buddha a socialist?
- Was the Buddha an Agnostic (or Atheist)?
- What is karma according to the Buddha?
- What is the role of the Sangha in Buddhism?
- Why am I not a Buddhist?
- Why does the Buddha put morality before mindfulness?
- Why use the Pāli canon to understand Buddhism?
- Why doesn't science show that Buddhist monks are less afraid of death?
Christianity
- Can people who lived prior to the Incarnation of Christ be saved?
- Can we send other people to Hell by not teaching them well?
- Catholic Teaching and Homosexuality
- Did a Historical Jesus really exist?
- Did the Church ever sell indulgences?
- Does the Catholic Church push people away?
- How are we Christians saved?
- How long was I an American Rite Catholic?
- Is Christian conversion an emotional reality?
- Is it licit for a Catholic to engage in the practices of other religions?
- Is the Catholic Church an ancient artifact?
- Is the Mormon faith a Christian religion?
- Priestly Prayers: St. Basil the Great
- Priestly Prayers: St. Gregory the Great
- Priestly Prayers: St. Mark the Evangelist
- Should Christians take yoga classes?
- Should Catholic schools fire people in same-sex marriages?
- The Beer of Fasts
- The Beer of Feasts
- The Blessing of Spiritual Homelessness
- The Apocalyptic Rosary
- The Christocentric Rosary
- The Eucharistic Rosary
- The Deaconess Dilemma
- The Fermentation and Distillation of Christianity
- The Joy-Creating Sorrow of the Komboskini
- The Liturgy of the Minutes
- The Promise and Danger of Theopoetics
- The Protestant Intuition: Church and Empire
- The Protestant Intuition: Hypocrisy & Truth
- The Protestant Intuition: Necessity & Tradition
- The Protestant Intuition: Scripture & Reason
- The Protestant Intuition: Divine Gifts & Human Works
- The Protestant Intuition: Other Religions & Obvious Assumptions
- The Slow Death of God
- The War of the Traditionalists
- The Weight of the Scapular
- Unfair Questions: What is your denomination?
- Unfair Questions: Was Jesus a Buddhist monk named Issa?
- Why do Catholics call Mary the Queen of Heaven?
- What did I learn from visiting an Eastern Orthodox parish regularly?
- Why am I not Eastern Orthodox?
- What could prove that Jesus rose from the dead?
- What's wrong with contextual theology?
- What is essential to the Catholic faith?
- What does it feel like to have Christ in your heart?
- What does it mean to be pastoral?
- What is heresy?
- What is liturgy?
- What's the difference between ancient and modern ecclesiology?
- When did I stop being Catholic because of my dissent?
- Who are the Liturgical Fathers?
- Why mixed-attraction marriage?
- Why charismatic worship?
- Why did I change my position on the ordination of women?
- Why do I call most American churches Post-Reformation churches?
- Why do I have skull beads on my rosaries?
- Why is there such a high standard for receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church?
- Why not customize the liturgy?
- Why on earth am I still Catholic?
Evolution
Gender & Sexuality
- How do I perceive homosexuality?
- The Philosopher Pig's Dilemma
- The Ugly Truth: Killing Masculine Compassion
- Unfair Questions: Do Women Reason?
Hinduism
Islam
- Fair Questions: Does the Bible or the Quran have more violence in it?
- Is Islam a Christian heresy?
- Islamic Mysticism: The Ecstatic Asceticism of Rūmī
- Islamic Mysticism: The Divine Dance Music of Rūmī
- Islamic Mysticism: The Erotic Serenity of Rūmī
- The Heritage of the Misbahah
- Unfair Questions: Is Islam a religion of peace or a religion of war?
- What did I learn from praying with Muslims?
- What does the Qur'an say about Mary?
- What does the Qur'an say about Jesus?
- What does the Qur'an say about unbelievers, Christians, and Jews?
- What does the Qur'an say about women?
- What does the Qur'an say about violence?
Jain
- The Final Birth of Mahāvīra
- The Five Vows of Mahāvīra
Love
- Love it to Death: Schism in the Church
- Love it to Death: The Love of Rules
- Love it to Death: The Rules of Love
- Love it to Death: The Priesthood of the People of God
- Love it to Death: The Bride of Christ
- Love it to Death: Living the Liturgy
- Love it to Death: The Washing of Feet
- Love it to Death: The Life of the Cross
- Love it to Death: The Death of Our Love
- Love it to Death: The Love of Our Life
- Love it to Death: The Truth in Love
- Love it to Death: The Love in Truth
- Love it to Death: The Repentance of Love
- Love it to Death: The Love of Repentance
- Love it to Death: The Extravagance of Love
- Love it to Death: The Gift of Despair
- Love it to Death: Praying from the Heart
- Love it to Death: The Cosmology of Love
- Love it to Death: Enter Under My Roof
- Love it to Death: The Gift of Loneliness
- Love it to Death: The Obedience of Love
- Love it to Death: The Tears of Love
- Love it to Death: The Communion of Saints
- Love it to Death: The Power of Prayer
- Love it to Death: The Wounds of Love
- Love it to Death: The Suffering of Love
- Love it to Death: The Miracle of Love
- Love it to Death: The Icons of Love
- Love it to Death: The Resurrection of Love
- Love it to Death: The Family of Love
- Love it to Death: The Beauty of Love
- Love it to Death: The Ascension of Love
- Love it to Death: The Tongues of Fire
- Love it to Death: The Music of Love
- Love it to Death: The Compassion of Love
- Love it to Death: The Poverty of Love
- Love it to Death: The Annunciation of Love
- Love it to Death: Scarred Icons
- Love it to Death: The Mercy of Love
- Love it to Death: The Forgiveness of Love
- Love it to Death: Nothing Shall I Want
- Love it to Death: The Fast of Love
- Love it to Death: The Vestments of Love
Philosophy
- A Reductive Philosophy of Religion
- Backward Thinking, Forward Lookers
- Do I have a philosophical religion?
- Forward Thinking, Backward Lookers
- How to Argue Badly: Ten Tips for Internet Intellectuals
- Is Thomas Aquinas a Body-Soul Dualist?
- Is the free will debate asking a meaningful question?
- Love in a Perfect World
- Mercy Killing and Merciful Living
- Orthodoxy: The Maniac
- Orthodoxy: The Voyeur
- The Christological Analysis
- The Church of Reason
- The Iron Man Argument
- The Juvenile Anthropology: Terminating the Future
- The Juvenile Anthropology: Euthanizing Truth
- The Juvenile Anthropology: Abandoning the Good
- The Problem of Evil: An Analysis
- What evidence is sufficient to believe in a supernatural cause?
- What is the relationship between faith and confirmation bias?
- What is the relationship between faith and evidence?
- What is the relationship between faith and reason?
- Why give up all addictions?
Poetry
- The Tears of the Moon
- Iceberg
- Iceberg Part II
- Morning Glory
- The Flower
- The Weeping Mountain
- The Weeping Mountain: Part II
- The River of Love
- The River of Love: Part II
- Ode to Mothers
- The Arms of Our Lady
- The Humble Gate of Sion
Racism
Religion
- Does religion cause more harm than good? Part I
- Does religion cause more harm than good? Part II
- Does religion cause more harm than good? Part III
- Does Religion Hinder Truth-Seeking?
- How can we dialogue with other religions respectfully?
- How did religion help us survive?
- How do religious doctrines confer an evolutionary advantage?
- How similar are the births of the world's major religious figures?
- Reactionary Religion
- Why bother switching traditions within a religion if you've found the right one?
- Why do religions say there are terrible consequences for believing the wrong things?
Satanism
Science
- The Anthropomorphosis of Science
- The Benefit of Doubt: The Gospel of Science
- The Benefit of Doubt: The Question of Science
- The Benefit of Doubt: The Limits of Science
Spirituality
- 40 Days in the Desert: Meditations on Lent
- 40 Days in the Garden: Meditations on Pascha
- 40 Days on the Mountain: Meditations on Ordinary Time
- 40 Days in the Heart: Meditations on True Love
- Buddhist Meditation: The Naraka of Nirvana
- Buddhist Meditation: The Breath of Moksha
- Buddhist Meditation: The End of Ātman
- Dark Night of the Soul: The Fall of Pride
- Dark Night of the Soul: Death to the Ego
- Dark Night of the Soul: Bread From Heaven
- Living on the Mountain: Remembering My Grandfather
- Living on the Mountain: Rocks from the Garden
- Living on the Mountain: Humble Roots
- Living on the Mountain: Out of the Tomb
- Living on the Mountain: Poor Man's Supper
- Living on the Mountain: Tough Love
- Living on the Mountain: A Living Sacrifice
- Living on the Mountain: Blood on the Rocks
- Living on the Mountain: Getting My Own Switch
- Munera Sanctifica: Priest
- Munera Sanctifica: Prophet
- Munera Sanctifica: King
- Praying with Icons: Mystical Supper
- Praying with Icons: The Nativity of Our Lord
- Praying with Icons: The Eternal Bloom
- Praying with Icons: The Ladder of Divine Ascent
- Praying with Icons: Saint George the Great-Martyr
- Praying with Icons: Saint Demetrius the Great-Martyr
- Praying with Icons: The King and Queen of Heaven
- Praying with Icons: Holy Foremother Ruth
- Praying with Icons: King David
- Praying with Icons: Holy Rachel the Matriarch
- Praying with Icons: St. Justin Martyr the Philosopher
- Praying with Icons: St. Augustine of Hippo
- Praying with Icons: St. Mary Magdalen
- Praying with Icons: St. Cecilia of Rome
- Praying with Icons: Christ the King
- Praying with Icons: St. Edward the Martyr
- Praying with Icons: The Last Judgment
- Praying with Icons: The Wedding at Cana
- Praying with Icons: Saint Monica
- Praying with Icons: Michael the Archangel
- Praying with Icons: Christ Heals the Faithful Woman
- Praying with Icons: St. Kevin of Glendalough
- Praying with Icons: St. Nicholas of Myra
- Praying with Icons: St. Mary of Egypt
- Praying with Icons: St. Sophia the Martyr
- Praying with Icons: The New Martyrs of Libya
- Praying with Icons: Diadochos of Photiki
- Praying with the Gospels: Carrying the Cross
- Praying with the Gospels: The Eyes of the Blind
- Praying with the Gospels: The Penitent Thief
- Praying with the Gospels: The Prodigal Son
- Praying with the Gospels: The Sheep and the Goats
- Praying with the Gospels: The Tears of a Sinner
- Praying with the Gospels: Your Disciple's Denial
- Praying with the Gospels: Your Good and Faithful Servant
- Praying with the Gospels: Thy Glorious Wounds
- The Benefit of Arbitrary Spirituality
- The Benefit of Mandatory Spirituality
- The Benefit of Supererogatory Spirituality
- The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Renunciation of the World
- The Ladder of Divine Ascent: The Blessing of Detachment
- The Ladder of Divine Ascent: The Heart of Exile
- The Spiritual Combat: Learning How to Fall
- The Spiritual Combat: Learning Our Weaknesses
- The Spiritual Combat: Learning of True Victory
- The Unfettered Mind: The Immovable Wisdom
- The Unfettered Mind: The Selfless Death
- The Unfettered Mind: The Strength of Faith
- Waking Up: Killing the Buddha
- Waking Up: Killing the Soul
- Waking Up: Killing the Self
- Waking Up: True Paradoxes
- Waking Up: Sex, Drugs, and Near Death Experiences
Wisdom