Summer Loving - Wedded Bliss

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being present at the wedding of two very good friends. The ceremony, though not held in some prescribed hallowed hall with preordained sanctity, was one of the most beautiful spiritual moments I have seen in quite a while.

Contact - When Science and Religion Collide

Last night I stumbled upon the 1997 film Contact on AMC - complete with Story Notes. First, let me say that I love Story Notes. The nerd in me loves to learn more about the details and impetus of those who create film, and this program allows a peek into that world.

Contact, aside from being a great science fiction film, is an amazing philosophical conversation between science and religion. Ellie Arroway, the films protagonist (played by Jodie Foster) is driven by an empirical focus on science that leads her to the discovery of an extraterrestrial communication from near the star Vega. Alongside this attempt to communicate with a far off civilization is a deep internal and external conflict between faith and science. Arroway is an atheist, but romantically entangled with philosopher Palmer Joss (played by Matthew McConaughey) who is constantly presenting Arroway with soul searching quandaries. The film is truly an exploration of faith, science, and the balance between the two.

Thoughts on the Role of Ritual in our Lives

A few weeks ago, in the frosty haze of a brisk Southeast Iowa Sunday morning, I awoke from one of the most solid slumbers that I'd enjoyed in a long time. I donned my best blue jeans and, with my wife and my grandmother in tow, cruised down the sleepy, two-lane highway bound for Sunday mass.