Christopher B. James

We’re Calling It. This Small Town in Iowa Is the Place to Be This Summer. Once the butt of jokes, the town of Dubuque, Iowa, has emerged as an unlikely hub of Midwest cool. Here’s how to plan a long weekend that packs in all its charms.

My town, Dubuque, getting some love from the WSJ.

www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...

Madison Learning Community | Seminary in Madison WI | Bible Classes Madison Learning Community is an initiative of University of Dubuque Theological Seminary offering seminary-level courses to Madison, WI-area pastors, church leaders, and others eager to deepen minist...

With the departure of TEDS, Wisconsin will have one fewer seminary. But there's still www.madisonseminary.org!

I get that politicians in Washington are afraid of the repercussions they'd face if they stood up to Trump. But, look, that's the oath. That's the job. We need the bravery and sacrifice we demand of people in uniform. We need love of neighbor over self-preservation. Be a hero or a disgrace.

Every pastor: "We don't know where you're going, Jesus, how are we supposed to know the way to get there?"

Jesus: It's me. I'm the way. No strategic plan or 3-step process will take the church where I intend. Follow me into the unknown.

Remember that time when a bishop told an emperor, if you don't repent you won't be forgiven? That was rad. #ambrose

...It was about the destruction that befalls a people that refuses the way of peace which Jesus taught. God is exceedingly patient...but when time is up, it's up. Repent!

In case you missed it (or your preacher did):
Sunday's lectionary reading about a falling tower that killed some people & repentance, and with the parable about a fruitless fig tree given one more year to bear fruit, wasn't about how individuals need to stop sinning and be better, or else...

St. Patrick was not Irish. First, he was in Ireland as an enslaved person, and later as an immigrant.

The steadfast love of the Lord is like the decimals of pi. It is irrational.

Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.

"A formal letter on Georgetown Law letterhead, dated March 6, 2025, from William M. Treanor, Dean and Executive Vice President, addressed to Edward R. Martin, Jr., Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. The letter responds to a previous letter from Martin dated February 17, 2025, and sent via email on March 3, 2025. Treanor emphasizes Georgetown University’s Catholic and Jesuit principles, its commitment to discourse among diverse faiths and cultures, and its adherence to federal and local anti-discrimination laws. He addresses concerns raised in Martin’s letter regarding Georgetown Law’s curriculum, diversity, equity, and inclusion, defending the university’s academic freedom under the First Amendment. The letter asserts that the government cannot dictate what Georgetown teaches or how it teaches, citing Supreme Court precedent on universities' rights to determine their academic policies. The letter is formatted formally, with the Georgetown University Law Center’s address at the bottom."

"The second page of a formal letter on Georgetown Law letterhead continues from the first page. The letter, authored by William M. Treanor, Dean and Executive Vice President, reaffirms the First Amendment's protection of universities’ rights to determine their curriculum without government interference. It references a recent confirmation from the Department of Education that it cannot restrict First Amendment rights or control school curricula. Treanor addresses the concern that the Interim U.S. Attorney’s office will deny Georgetown students and graduates employment opportunities until its curriculum is approved by the office, calling this a constitutional violation and an attack on the university’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution. The letter highlights Georgetown Law’s distinguished faculty, its history of educating world leaders and Justice Department officials, and its commitment to academic excellence and diverse perspectives. Treanor concludes by requesting confirmation that Georgetown-affiliated candidates will receive fair employment consideration. The letter ends with Treanor’s signature and his printed name and title."

reposting the Georgetown letter o.p. @joshchafetz.bsky.social with #AltText.

this is how you do it. do not obey in advance, and outsmart them at every turn.

#HigherEd
#AcademicSky

For us, "gods" are spiritual beings, separate from earthly powers. But in the worlds of the Bible, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar & Caesar all claimed divinity & demanded worship. "Have no other gods before me" meant not only monotheism but also denying the principalities & powers what they craved.

What protections do recent religious freedom rulings provide for Christian universities who celebrate diversity, seek equity, and practice inclusion as part of their religious mission? #law #legal #religiousfreedom #dearcolleague

Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, friends.

"This isn't very entertaining," I said to a friend.
"I think there's something deep going on and we might be missing most of it," he said.
"Oh," I said.
So, I leaned in to learn more.
Like most art and wisdom, it's out in the open, but only understood by those willing and prepared to listen.

Oh, if you quote, please correct "becomes" --> become.

Feel free to quote. These sentences are from a chapter I'm writing for a book to be titled Reseeding Church.

To believe that God is near is to anticipate the possibility brushing up against the divine. To anticipate it is to becomes sensitized. Trading stories about such brushes with the Spirit generates further faith and heightened anticipation. Attention and perception are intimately connected.

Christians can't approach immigration as just a question of statecraft because it is a basic dimension of who they are.
They are called "foreigners & exiles" in this world (1 Ptr 2:11), permanent "foreigners & strangers on earth" (Heb 11:13) because their "citizenship is in heaven" (Phil 3:20).

Jesus almost got killed after his first sermon. The crowd was loving it until he suggested that God loved people of other nations, too. Luke 4, look it up.

It was beautiful & powerful act of Christian witness.
To be clear, though, she didn't "call him out to his face;" she pleaded for mercy in the name of the God he invokes.
It was not an act of condemnation. Calling him to repentance was an act of mercy. Also, the hard heart seals its own fate.

Important contrast. Former evangelicals used to mostly be mainline Protestants now they're mostly non-religious.

Help us honor a Distinguished Book in the social science of religion. Nominations (from friends, publishers, or authors) must be received by Jan 20! Details at sssreligion.org/awards-grant...

Proud to know two of the leaders quoted in this article who are providing hope in the midst of such pain and grief.

The thing about Christian hope is you can simultaneously say: "Socio-politically, 2025 is going to be the worst year of my lifetime to date-and precursor to far worse" and "My hope is not disturbed for it is placed in a crucified and risen Christ, firstborn of the new creation."

Thanks, Jim. I know several touched by this horror.

The worst idols
are the ones that
demand child sacrifice.

Forgiveness doesn't require forgetting. In fact, it is precisely a peculiar type of remembering.

YouTube video by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers Children of Men Official Trailer #1 - Julianne Moore, Clive Owen Movie (2006) HD

Children of Men is THE most relevant Christmas movie for 2024. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VT2...

Fact: Children of Men is a Christmas movie.