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Greg Garrett
Austin, TX
Greg Garrett is Professor of English at Baylor University and Writer-in-Residence at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest. The author of over a dozen books of fiction, memoir, and theology, he is perhaps best known for his works on religion and culture, among them The Gospel according to Hollywood, We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2, and One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter. Greg writes a weekly column for Patheos (patheos.com) and blogs at www.theotherjesus.com, a Christian Century blog; his posts have been published at the Christian Science Monitor and Washington Post and picked up for reposting on Huffington Post.
Recent Activity
Thanks for your message, Donna. My friend was the Archbishop of Canterbury, who I'd guess has spent more time in the Word and on his knees than both of us put together. If this story doesn't speak to you I can accept that, but God speaks to us in many ways. The Spirit moves where it will, as scripture says.
Commented Apr 17, 2013 on The Spiritual World of Doctor Who at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
The Spiritual World of Doctor Who
A Gathering Voices Post by Greg Garrett Some years ago a writer friend in the Church of England told me I should be watching Doctor Who (it is always, FYI, “Doctor,” never “Dr.”). “If I wrote the sort of books you do,” he told me, meaning books about religion and culture, “I’d certainly write ...
The End of Harry Potter
The final Harry Potter film comes out this weekend, and people all over the world are calling it the end of an era. Why has the Potter story appealed to so many people? Continue reading
Posted Jul 11, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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This certainly adds some nuances to a complicated question. Thanks, Pete!
Commented Jul 5, 2011 on St. Bono the Tax Evader? at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
St. Bono the Tax Evader?
A Gathering Voices Post by Greg Garrett So U2 was playing the huge and still ever-so-slightly countercultural Glastonbury Festival here in the UK a week back. They're in the midst of their "360" tour, one of the most successful in pop music history, and Glastonbury was a detour of sorts, but, I ...
St. Bono the Tax Evader?
U2 is the most successful band in the world. But a recent protest at Glastonbury highlighted this question: If they don't pay more taxes to help their suffering Ireland, are they hypocrites or merely smart businesspeople? Continue reading
Posted Jul 4, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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The Alamo Drafthouse, Texting, and Christian Responses
What is an appropriate Christian response to people who behave badly in public? Continue reading
Posted Jun 27, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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Celebrity Scandals and Schaudenfraude
A Gathering Voices post by Greg Garrett It’s a very human impulse, although that doesn’t necessarily make it a good one. Maybe we look at some of the powerful men currently accused of stupid or illicit behavior (Congressman Anthony Weiner, actor and former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, head of the International... Continue reading
Posted Jun 20, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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Summer Vacation, 2011
Why do we go on vacation? What emotional and spiritual needs do these trips serve? And how might we experience the healthiest—and most satisfying—vacations possible? Continue reading
Posted Jun 12, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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LeBron James: Hero, Villain, or Good American?
In a story in last week’s New York Daily News, LeBron James’ responses to questions about “the Decision” not only show he hasn’t learned anything, but they continue to reek of hubris and narcissism. Continue reading
Posted Jun 6, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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What Just Happened on The Mentalist? And Why Do We Love Cliffhangers?
TV cliffhangers have been popular for years. What in our narrative or spiritual DNA accounts for our love of such conflict-laden stories? Continue reading
Posted May 30, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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Faith and Foo Fighters?
The spiritual wisdom that informs many of the Foo Fighters' new songs: whatever has happened, we are capable of more, we are capable of better. Continue reading
Posted May 23, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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Spirituality and Superheroes
Superhero comics have always explored real questions in the guise of brightly-costumed characters, and once again we have the chance to be entertained—and maybe even enlightened—by another year of the superhero. Continue reading
Posted May 16, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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The Spiritual World of Doctor Who
The long-running British sci-fi show Doctor Who wrestles with post 9/11 realities such as the balance between freedom and security, the question of how to love one’s enemies, and whether it is right to destroy even the most evil of beings. Continue reading
Posted May 9, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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The Royal Wedding: Why Should We Care?
I am wishing the young royals the best and praying for their life together, because we need this particular fairy tale. Continue reading
Posted May 2, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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No Hurry: The Countercultural Message of Zac Brown
When you look past the obvious country hits, the Zac Brown Band has something to teach us about the spiritual life in this over-amped world. Continue reading
Posted Apr 25, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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Thanks, Erin. This reminds me of what Merton said about how our natural disordered desires are reinforced by advertising and societal expectations. It takes more clarity than most of us have even to recognize the possibility of having enough.
Commented Apr 22, 2011 on Enough at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
Enough
A Gathering Voices Post by Erin Lane What does it mean to have “enough”? Ethicists and economists alike have tried to answer that question within a field referred to as happiness studies. Thought to have originated in the late 1970s, happiness studies have concluded two very interesting points. ...
I've been thinking and writing a lot about the possible Christian dimension of taxes, and find both more giving and fairer taxation both compelling ways for those who have to help their less privileged brothers and sisters. But try to say that and get elected--
Commented Apr 22, 2011 on Taxing the uninformed at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
Taxing the uninformed
A Gathering Voices post by Adam Copeland The Obamas and Bidens released their tax returns this week. If you were wondering, President Obama made $1.7 million, well down from last year (I guess e-book sales really are hurting authors these days). The Bidens’ income was $379,000, though their char...
Reading with Robinson: The Death of Adam
The Death of Adam is about the importance of engaging those voices from our past who have shaped our civilization so that we may have an informed opinion. Too many of us, including me, get our opinions from the opinions of others. Continue reading
Posted Apr 18, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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J--
I like this mythic/cultural analysis--those Brits and their strict class systems, and us with our infinite freedom to move from class to class! (Even if the poor stay poor or get poorer, and the rich get ever richer.) But I too love shows and movies like this and some part of me celebrates our difference--even if it's a myth.
Greg
Commented Apr 11, 2011 on Why We’re Still Peeking Upstairs and Downstairs with the BBC at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
Why We’re Still Peeking Upstairs and Downstairs with the BBC
Last night’s premiere of Upstairs, Downstairs was met with quiet cheers of delight from fans who watched the original BBC series in the early 1970s and became enamored of its attention to the foibles of the British class system. I have never seen the original series and was expecting a strict ...
Transfiguration: Gilead, Beauty, and God
A great novel like Gilead gives us the courage to recognize and acknowledge beauty—God moving in and through Creation—when we encounter it. Continue reading
Posted Apr 11, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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Greg Garrett is now following Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Apr 4, 2011
Bardem, pardon. Bad fingers.
Commented Apr 5, 2011 on We Used to Wait at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
We Used to Wait
A Gathering Voices post by Greg Garrett I was early for a lunch meeting at a little Mexican-food dive in Waco last week, and it was a beautiful sunny spring day with things bright green and blooming, so I got off the interstate, rolled the windows down, and drove country back roads. I was blast...
Thanks, Barden. Interesting to know--
Commented Apr 5, 2011 on We Used to Wait at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
We Used to Wait
A Gathering Voices post by Greg Garrett I was early for a lunch meeting at a little Mexican-food dive in Waco last week, and it was a beautiful sunny spring day with things bright green and blooming, so I got off the interstate, rolled the windows down, and drove country back roads. I was blast...
We Used to Wait
Do you remember all the ways technology was supposed to change our lives for the better, give us more free time, keep us from waiting? Arcade Fire suggests maybe we've lost something vital in the transition. Continue reading
Posted Apr 4, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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More than Capes and Tights: Five Great Contemporary Comics
Great comics and graphic novels can teach us about life, faith, and a whole lot more than bad fashion choices. Continue reading
Posted Mar 28, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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U2 and Augustine: Faithful Journeying, Pt. 2
Augustine argued that we love God most obviously through loving our neighbors. U2 brings that teaching to life in their own community, and they show us how love for neighbor should spill over the bounds of the faithful community and out into the world. Continue reading
Posted Mar 21, 2011 at Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian
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