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Author Archives: awtraughber
New Year’s Hobbit
It took me a little longer than usual to get ahold of this year’s Tolkien calendar. When I finally remembered my need to order it around Christmas time, it was nigh impossible to find. Not at Amazon. Not at Barnes … Continue reading
Gospel and Church, Mold and Platform
In his survey of failing institutions in American life, Yuval Levin writes about the church in the “close to home” section (which also includes the family and community organizations. While he writes about the loss of authority of the Catholic … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, The Long Story
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Playing our Roles Fittingly (Civics Edition)
In class I often revisit the question of “how can I play my role fittingly?” in light of the biblical story. This is a nod to both N. T. Wright’s “five-act play” of the biblical story and Kevin Vanhoozer’s “drama … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Notes for a World's End, Teaching
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Living with Loss
Last week America posted a short reflection by James K. A. Smith about how Christians handle loss. What begins with a nod to Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead takes a personal turn that I found difficult and brilliant. Smith writes: A number … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, Friendship, Notes for a World's End, Television, The Long Story
Tagged James K A Smith
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Jacob and the Face of God
Yesterday I mentioned the manuscript I wrote for this week’s chapel. The topic was Jacob’s encounter with God. The task was partly to retell the story to an audience who has a basic knowledge of the story. Here’s a cleaned-up … Continue reading
Posted in Scripture, Teaching
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Submitted for Your Approval?
I recently spoke for what will probably be “the last time” in chapel this quarter. If the timing goes well, it could be my last time for the year. We’ll see. Either way, in my head I had planned on … Continue reading
Posted in Faith, Scripture, Teaching
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On Friendship
Earlier this week many conservative writers mourned the loss of Roger Scruton, a British teacher and public intellectual. His name and thinking have hovered on the edges of my interests for some time now, but I’ve not spent much time … Continue reading
Posted in Friendship
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From Spyfall to Planetfall
One thing an early January start-date allows for Doctor Who is that there’s not much broadcast TV competition. What makes it even sweeter is that the season, two episodes in, has really leaned into the show’s mythology more than every … Continue reading
The One with the Spoilers
This morning I caught a matinee showing of Greta Gerwig’s adaption of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I was up for a movie but didn’t quite feel ready to walk back into The Rise of Skywalker again. I had heard … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
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Spyfall with Spoilers
Well, I spent most of today on an airplane or two. I have to admit, the American Airlines route from HNL to BNA through ORD is quite good. The success of it depends on weather and delays, I think, but … Continue reading
Space Enough, and Time 