I’m not a hardcore Calvinist by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s hard not to give credence to one of the main principles of that theological tradition: the notion of total depravity.

The candles in the Advent wreath symbolize expectation, and a growing excitement as the time of fulfillment draws nearer.

Perhaps it’s appropriate that Donald Trump made his latest (and, to date, most) inflammatory remarks on December 7, “a date which will live in infamy,” as President Roosevelt famously called it.

The headline in The Columbus Dispatch this morning says simply, “Another Massacre.”

My wife recently told me about a web site she visits from time to time. It’s a category on Reddit.com (a “sub-Reddit”) called “No No No YES!”

Happy Thanksgetting. Win the Holidays. These are two of the advertising taglines I have seen already this holiday season, and they bug me.

It's funny how quickly one’s sense of security can become wobbly. On my way to work Wednesday, my car started acting up.

Sometimes the "hopeful" part of my hopeful curmudgeon persona gets pushed to its limit.

Here's something that bugs me.

I’m attending the American Baptist Mission Summit (what used to be called the Biennial) in Kansas City this weekend. I have had a chance to re-connect with some old friends and colleagues, and also to meet some new people.

Rumor has it I will have a book published sometime in the coming months.

It’s a red-letter date for curmudgeonhood: February 2, 2014. Super Bowl Sunday.