all-school communion, jumbled memories, passion

Sometimes I miss being a Christian. I don’t miss Christianity, but I miss being a part of this whole thing. This whole thing that goes on at this school, where I am way out of the loop.
Tonight I went to All-School Communion for the first time in a long time. We have [...]

Read Full Post »

Contentment

A couple of weeks ago Dr. Lisa McMinn, a former Wheaton sociology professor, spoke in chapel about contentment. She was one of the most popular profs on campus (and one of my favorites), and her message was on the whole pretty good, with one major flaw.
Contentment, she said, is being present in the moment, [...]

Read Full Post »

random notes

I want to thank everyone who has been reading, commenting, and discussing here. I really enjoy reading your comments. Writing this blog and reading your comments have done wonders for my sanity.
It’s always fun to see how people find this site. Shout out to the person who got here by googling “wheaton [...]

Read Full Post »

an atheistic equivalent of prayer?

It’s midterm week at Wheaton, and everybody is frantically taking exams, writing papers, and getting ready for Fall Break. For devotions in every class, we pray for our exams, preservation of sanity, and safety traveling during Fall Break. I think it’s incredibly hokey. So I was surprised, as I walked across campus on [...]

Read Full Post »

Dear Wheaton: atheists are people too

I see that more and more Wheaton College people are finding their way to this blog, so I thought I should extend a welcome and also explain a little about the purpose of this blog. Welcome, Wheaton readers. Don’t be shy.
When I became an atheist and realized I was locked in at Wheaton, [...]

Read Full Post »

a bi-partisan conversation

Last night I attended an event on campus sponsored by CACE, Wheaton’s Center for Applied Christian Ethics. Called “Christian Moral Engagement in Politics: a Bi-partisan Conversation,” it was a discussion with a former Republican senator and a former Democratic congressman, moderated by Michael Gerson, former Bush presidential speech writer and Wheaton alum. Here’s [...]

Read Full Post »

An atheist devotion: further up and further in

For your daily devotions, complete with Bible verse and plenty of C.S. Lewis references. Enjoy.
1 Corinthians 13:11-12
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a [...]

Read Full Post »

I saw Richard Dawkins. Holy crap.

“Is Richard Dawkins your C.S. Lewis?”  My Christian friend, who had never even heard of Dawkins before, asked me that when I said I was going to go see Dawkins in Chicago.  C.S. Lewis is the unofficial patron saint of Wheaton College, and it’s practically a requirement for every student to own a full library [...]

Read Full Post »

Wheatonism

I went to the Health Center on campus. At the end of my appointment, the doctor put a hand on my shoulder and prayed for me. She said that’s how she likes to end every appointment. I thought: whoa, that is really creepy.
That’s the kind of thing I would have really loved [...]

Read Full Post »

Monday morning griping

Things just haven’t been going well this morning, and it’s partly because of some stupid mistakes that I made. This is one thing that’s been harder to deal with as an atheist– when things go wrong, especially when it’s my fault. I hear Christian voices echoing in my head that I’m a sinner [...]

Read Full Post »