Commentary

This summer – while on vacation and feeling vaguely sad – I read a marvelous essay by the contemporary writer Leslie Jamison. In it, Jamison wonders if we could allow ourselves to understand sadness “as something other than a feeling meant to be replaced,” if we could stop trying to cure sadness and instead allow that it might be beautiful.

My differences make me who I am. My disabilities have a huge part in who I am. Saying "I am disabled" or "I am dyslexic" feels more right than "I am a person with a disability."

Images of God vary infinitely. No two are identical. Each human mind conceives its own image of God. Even atheists must create an image they can reject. I’d never really considered these things until I taught English in China, where we studied references to Christianity in English literature.

I was a newspaper reporter and editor for nearly 40 years, a university professor for 10. And this month, I am celebrating one year as a columnist for Spokane Faith and Values.

I like conflict about as much as I like this heat wave. I’ll do anything to avoid it.

During Hajj, Prophet Abraham/Ibrāhīm is a symbol of shared origins and unification in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam