Theological Musings
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A Candle in the Dark: My Spiritual Practices
I am what psychologist Richard Beck calls a “winter Christian.” By that I mean that my relationship with God largely centers around my struggle to make sense of the crap in the world. I am not a critic of God or of the Church or of the Faith, but I am sensitive to shallowness and Continue reading
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Anxiety and Sin
The anxiety has returned. It’s not like it was–I want to be clear about that. But it is bad. Worse than it has been since Ellie was born. I never know what to do with all of this, you know? I never really know what to do with the fact that my mind doesn’t obey Continue reading
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Addressing the Transgender Phenomenon: a Christian Response
***Updated February 2021 to reflect better terminology. ***Dr. Preston Sprinkle has an excellent series of interviews called The Diversity of Trans. You can find the first interview here. Introduction In light of the recent “bathroom bills” and debates over teaching the acceptance of trans accounts of gender identity in public schools (if you have questions about Continue reading
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Historical Inquiry and the Resurrection
Historical inquiry into Jesus has not yet rigorously begun in our time[1]. It will not begin until the premise of theandric union–truly God, truly human–is entertained as a serious hypothesis by historians. The incarnate Son is always greater than our methods of investigating him. The living Lord breaks through the very historical limitations to Continue reading
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Spring Cleaning my Heart: Ditching my Smartphone for the Sanctified Life
We are about the enter the fourth week of Easter (I’ve taken to seeing time liturgically rather than secularly; it helps with my spiritual condition) and I am already tired of the alleluias. I’ve probably said this before, but I feel way more comfortable with Advent than Christmas, with Lent than Easter. I just think Continue reading
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Christian Marriage: Difference and Mutuality
This past week, my students and I began working our way through Merchant of Venice. In order to give my students a grid for reading the play, we spent a couple of class periods working our way through Louise Cowan’s conception of the genre of Comedy. In order to get to Comedy, however, I needed Continue reading
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Why I am not a Roman Catholic
***THIS POST HAS BEEN SUPERSEDED BY THIS ONE*** ***I initially tried harmonizing this post with my change of mind in Spring of 2021, but gave up the effort*** Part 1: Narrative I’ve been asked at least a few times in recent years why I’m not a Roman Catholic. The question usually follows me explaining my embrace of Continue reading
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Habitus and Anxiety
While I think I understand some of the root causes of my anxiety, understanding does not lead to its elimination. And that’s my problem. I’ve always felt that if I can just understand something, if I can get my head around a problem, if I can just organize the crap out of it, then I Continue reading
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Same-Sex Marriage: Some Thoughts
In light of the recent decision by the Supreme Court that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to have their marriages licensed and recognized by all fifty States, I’ve decided to pen some reflections on the topic that I hope will offer folks something interesting to read and think about. While there are layers upon layers of Continue reading
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An Account of My Spiritual Journey Part 2
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my spiritual journey. I know I have the account of it here on the blog, but it is woefully incomplete and evinces a strong misunderstanding of my heart and mind. I wrote it about six weeks before we moved from Abilene to Dallas, and I drew together what Continue reading
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My Life and My Work: Toward a Synthesis
I’ve spent the first half of this semester doing two main things: changing diapers and resisting the dominant intellectual currents in my field. * * * My daughter, Ellie, is over a month old now. She is adorable and sweet and always hungry. She is perverse, preferring to wait until she has a clean diaper Continue reading
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Fall and the Coming Renewal
In St. John’s Apocalypse, God declares to all of creation: Behold, I make all things new. Growing up, I heard that sentiment in the sense that, at the end, God will make a different Heaven and a different earth. They will be “new” in the same sense as a new pair of shoes from the Continue reading
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Purity Culture and Me: My Struggle, Past and Present
WARNING: This blog post is rated PG 13 for frank discussion of sexuality. While I do not get graphic, I am pretty straightforward. * * * I regularly read a few dozen blogs. One of the blogging universes that I am sort of on the periphery of involves blogs from progressive evangelicals, like Rachel Held Continue reading
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Learning to Love and Pray (at the Same Time): The Beginning of a Synthesis
I recently finished G. K. Chesterton‘s The Everlasting Man, and I am now about a third of the way through Kathleen Norris‘s Amazing Grace. My intellect, long the center of my approach to the world and to faith, has finally found its interest in robust, historical, liturgical Christianity matched by an emotional and artistic delight. Continue reading
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An Account of My Spiritual Journey
For those interested, I have an update to my journey here. My purpose in writing this is to narrate my spiritual journey over the last six years so that those who care about me can understand some of my thoughts on the ways I have changed over the last six years. Because of my upbringing Continue reading
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Kingdom: The Nicene Creed Part 6
(you can find the first post here, the second here, the third here, the fourth here, and the fifth here) And in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. The Church, in grief, is split into various institutional unities, but she is, by the grace of God, one in the Spirit. Her sacraments derive from one Continue reading
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First Week of Advent: Hope
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to Continue reading
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My Faith and my Doubt: an Attempted Description
My mind has been circling the big questions again. As usual. And, as usual, I don’t know anything for certain. I don’t have much to say today that I haven’t said before, but perhaps re-framing it will help remind me of my choice. * * * I believe in the God of the philosophers. I Continue reading
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A Simple Revolution
I’ve been experiencing a lot change recently. I got married four months ago. I began my master’s program a year ago. I will be applying for PhD programs in the next couple of months. I left Beltway and joined Highland 15 months ago. But far more than my material circumstances or local contexts have changed: Continue reading
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Praying Part Three: The Divine Hours
This is the third post I have written explicitly about prayer. The first two posts were written about a year ago and were in direct response to When God Talks Back, an ethnographic account of prayer among charismatic evangelicals. To Dr. Lurhman (who wrote the book), the people she studied were purveyors of something very Continue reading
About Me
Gregory C. Jeffers
Anglican Christian | Husband | Father | Teacher | Scholar | Poet
G. C. Jeffers 