Rev Dr Sparky on Real/igion

Tag: Humor

  • Playing hide and seek with G*D

    Why we don’t look in churches anymore. Where do you go on Sundays if you are “spiritual but not religious”? Oft-cited Pew Research Center surveys report an increase in the percentage of respondents who answer “None” when asked to name their religious identity: from about 16% in 2007 to around 29% in 2018. Not surprisingly, their…

  • Lessons from a year of writing on Medium.

    A little more than a year ago, I started posting short essays and other thoughts here on Medium. Like many others, I have always loved writing in various vocations and avocations, and I was enchanted by the ease of this attractive, ad-free platform. After a few trial essays went off into the silence, as they…

  • Stop looking. Start seeing.

    Along with other inquirers, I’ve written in these pages about the “do it yourself” nature of many of our spiritual or religious journeys. I’ve reflected on the language we use to shape our beliefs and wondered cynically whether those beliefs might actually be merely aspects of our own personalities. But now I want to look…

  • What we talk about when we talk about G*d

    At this stage of my life, I find myself increasingly seeking simplicity on many questions. While I’ve always been happy to analyze, over-analyze, and problematize important issues about life, language, religious expressions, and the best office supplies, I am now more interested in the irreducible questions at the core of these issues. Right now, I’m…

  • “my barbaric yelp…”

    I am deliberately misquoting Walt Whitman because: 1) It seems like a catchy way to introduce a post about Yelping; and 2) Mr. Whitman’s “Song of Myself” is still alive and essential. I think I do some of my best writing on platforms like Yelp. I don’t do it all that often, and I’m not…

  • God, Bespoke

    You’re “spiritual, not religious.” You sort of believe in God, “But not a man with a beard on a throne.” (You always say that. Pretty much everyone always says that.) Maybe you’re a cultural Jew or Christian or Muslim, just not observant, or you’ll laugh and say you’re a “recovering Catholic.” You used to go…

  • Welcome to Hell. Please enter your username and password.

    It’s insane. Every day, every hour, my precious and irreplaceable time on earth is being used up — siphoned away — setting Usernames and Passwords and Security Questions. Every productive activity I ever want to do online has to be Protected, whether it’s worth protecting or not. If my computer reboots or updates, my bank becomes stand-offish, claiming it…