by jakeowensby | Nov 5, 2021 | Uncategorized
Essie Dunbar had epilepsy. In 1915, when she was 30 years old, she suffered a massive seizure. A doctor declared her dead, and her funeral took place the very next day. Her sister arrived from out of town as the last shovelful of dirt landed on the grave. The sister...
by jakeowensby | Feb 12, 2021 | grace, Mark 9:2-9
The windows of his second-story office looked out over the quad. We were having what had become one of our regular afternoon philosophical chats. Dr. L- was my mentor. He had taken me under his wing in my first term at college. Any class he offered, I took. Eventually...
by jakeowensby | Jan 10, 2020 | Matthew 3:13-17
If you’re trying to please God, I really wish you would stop. That’s not what real love looks like. It’s just people-pleasing on a cosmic scale. And people pleasing misconstrues love as a transaction. People-pleasers are some of the nicest, most helpful people you’ll...
by jakeowensby | Nov 22, 2019 | Luke 23:33-43
Each week a few devout atheists respond to my essays. Mostly on social media rather than on the blog or via email. Some of them want to engage in a genuine way. Others are snarky and dismissive and apparently want nothing more than to announce how dim I am. Recently,...
by jakeowensby | Mar 31, 2018 | Easter Day, John 20:1-18
In the early hours of the third day, Mary Magdalene went with a group of women to Jesus’ tomb. They carried spices to anoint his shattered, lifeless body. At least, that’s how Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell the story. In John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb...
