Barbara Brown Taylor
Sold on incarnation
I am an unwilling explorer of cyberspace. For years I managed not to go there....
A manner of speaking
I am a longtime fan of public radio. It began years ago with Garrison Keillor, whose weekly monologues on Lake Wobegon became a regular feature of my Saturday evenings....
The sacred well
When I bought the land where I now live, there was nothing on it but trees, cows and fescue. The first question the builder asked me was, “Where’s your well?” I tried to hide my surprise....
Slowing down for death
Although I live nine miles away from town, there is nothing much to slow me down on my way in....
Used books
While I was visiting Fort Worth, Texas, recently, I walked into a used bookstore on North 8th Street—the kind of place where you can fall into a time warp, forgetting where you are until you hear t...
Vishnu’s almonds
This week I am headed to the Hindu Temple in Atlanta so that the students in my World Religions class may see a living faith in action....
Power loss
I have just spent the last hour turning on and off light switches, standing in front of heater vents, and opening faucets....
An imitation of Christ
Several years ago, when my husband’s engineering firm was between jobs, a pipe fitter named Richard came to live in the small log cabin just down the hill from our house....
Holy instincts: Beneath the tinsel
Christmas is coming. I know this not because of the weather, which is still balmy, nor the date....
Boundary issues
Recently I met someone who had been to South Africa to witness the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission....
Divine subtraction
Recently I received a letter from the CEO of a not-for-profit corporation that is dear to my heart. After seven years of leadership, he said, he believed it was time for him to step down....
Consider the lilies
When I travel, I like to bring treasures home with me. I have four carved wooden masks I bought in Kenya, and one of the Buddha I found in Katmandu....
The gardener in question
Leaving the church
Since I left parish ministry almost two years ago, the oddest question I have been asked is, "What do you preach about now that you have left the church?" The people who ask tend to be deeply invol...
Physics and faith: The luminous web
Among the many compelling reasons for religious people to engage science is the human tendency to base our worldviews on the prevailing physics of the day....
Letting God run things without my help
Bothering God
I have a seven-year-old granddaughter by marriage named Madeline. She is blond, skinny and tall for her age. When she comes to visit, we cook together....
Surfeit of significance
One of my worst fears recently materialized in-of all places-the post office. It was lunch hour on a busy day....
Cultural exchange
Today another package arrived from Ethiopia. I handed the post office clerk the yellow claim slip and he handed me the brown paper package with the exotic stamps on it....