The Sermon on the Mount is not about politics, but it has political ramifications. In fact, the whole of the Christian life has political implications. This can be said for one primary reason, we are called to love our neighbors…...
For the past week, I have been sleeping 5.5 hours a night in the middle of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. I have been looking forward to this week for quite some time. There is not much that beats...
Today was day one of a three day conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico for me. It is called Conspire and is an annual conference on (essentially) Franciscan spirituality in today’s world. One of the keynote speakers, James Alison, spoke at...
Perhaps I am writing this as much as for myself as for you, but… Don’t give up. There may feel as though there are enough reasons to give up. It may feel as though there are enough frustrations and failures...
The other day I took a few moments to look at one of my favorite passages in the New Testament. Romans is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in Rome. Romans 12:2 reads as follows in...
Starting roughly a year ago, I began reading the works of the Franciscans rather dutifully. From modern Franciscans, to the early ones, I found that they all resonated deeply within me. I think there is a reason for this, and...
A number of years ago I took time and planned a reading schedule for myself. The goal was to read as many classics as I could in a twelve month span. Among the authors were Shakespeare, William Faulkner, Fyodor Dostoyevsky...
The Madman is a popular modern parable. It is possible that you have heard it or heard of some adapted retelling of it. From the Parable of the Madman we first hear Nietzsche’s cry, “God is dead.” It is a...
Hans urs Von Balthasar, in his Magnum Opus Theological Aesthetics, said that the prophets have never used any medium other than art. In all of human history, no other medium has been able to carry the full weight of the prophet’s...
I think American views of Christianity are at a fork in the road. Some are lamenting while others rejoice that the criticisms of religion are finally mainstream. Religion has been displaced from the public sphere for nearly a generation now...
© 2025 · John Chaffee MDiv, ThM