Category: Food for Thought

Giving Up Thanksgiving

It took me a while to accept the fact that Thanksgiving 2020 could not be like all the others. The only way to celebrate it right was to give it up for the year. Read my essay here in The Washington Post. Read the rest here at The Washington Post. And/or read my previous Thanksgiving… Continue reading Giving Up Thanksgiving

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Pandemic of 2020

I’m ready to start forgetting. Stuck in the middle of a historical event, I long to be on the other side looking back. Like Natasha and Pierre. You can read the whole thing here in The Washington Post (if you don’t have a subscription, check your library for access). Continue reading here.

Stock Up? Make Do? Or Splurge?

Confusion in My Quarantine Kitchen People are suffering out there. In here, life is truly . . . pleasant. This piece is about struggling with that contrast. You can read the whole thing here. (If you don’t have a Washington Post subscription but you do have a library card, chances are you can access the… Continue reading Stock Up? Make Do? Or Splurge?

Why All the Dead Babies?

Passover makes it especially clear: religion is not where morality comes from. This piece was originally published in FaithStreet years ago, but when I searched for it recently it was gone. So I’m reprising it here, slightly updated. It’s a bit of an antidote to my recent concession that religion can be useful. As an… Continue reading Why All the Dead Babies?

God? No. Religion? Maybe a Little.

I need events that can’t be canceled. We don’t need religion any more to explain the universe. And we obviously don’t need it to tell us right from wrong. But it must be useful, or why would people hang on to it? This essay is about one of those uses. Read the whole thing here… Continue reading God? No. Religion? Maybe a Little.