Welcome to my page of writings. There's some different things here (or will be shortly): Poetry, short stories, essays and articles. I hope you enjoy it.

As is basically true for any writing, these are working drafts and in progress. As they are revised, I'll update them here.

Please note that all these materials are copyrighted. All rights are reserved.

Short Stories

[Forthcoming]

Essays, Articles and Papers

General Essays and Articles

Pieces from the Blog-o-verse [Forthcoming]:

Over at This is Life: Revolutions Around the Cruciform Axis I offer my sometimes daily ruminations about life, theology, culture, politics, and waiting in line.  Below you will find links to collected entries.  These are occasional pieces and refer to other discussions and events.  But their main themes should be clear enough.  Enjoy.

Thinking About Salvation [NEW!!]

On Tradition, Relativism and Authority [NEW!!]

The Fatherhood Chronicles [NEW!!]

On the Church [NEW!!]

Orthodox Experiences [NEW!!]

Academic Papers and Articles

Deconstruction:Derrida, Theology and St John of the Cross

This was one of my first papers at Lincoln Christian Seminary which I wrote in 1994 for my thesis advisor, Dr John Castelein, and was submitted for his class "The Making of the Postmodern Mind."  In it I am trying to draw connections between the thought of deconstructionist philosopher Jacques Derrida, and the Christian monk, St John of the Cross, and how our language does or does not assist us in knowing God.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Postmodernity and Christ the Center

This was another paper written in 1995 for Dr Castelein and his class "Twentieth Century Theology."  I am trying to draw connections between Bonhoeffer's Christology and Christians in the so-called "postmodern" era.

Same-Sex Unions and the Episcopal Church

This paper was written in 2000 for Dr Ruth Meyers and her class "Anglican Liturgy" at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.  In it I am trying to reframe the debate in the Episcopal Church on whether it is permissible to create liturgies for blessing same-sex unions by returning the discussion to fundamental questions of anthropology, a theology of marriage, and so forth.

Scriptural Knowledge: Augustine's Limits on Learning

This paper was written in 2001 for Dr Blake Dutton and his class "Augustine" at Loyola University Chicago.  I show in this paper that Augustine's limitations on learning, that it must only go so far as to support our understanding of Scripture, while broad, is not broad enough, nor does it offer an adequate teleology for human knowledge.

Tradition and the Limiting Tradition

I wrote this paper in 2002 for Drs Tom Wren and David Ingram in their class "Social Justice."  I attempt to show what I take to be deficiencies in John Rawls' conception of justice in his "The Idea of Public Reason Revisited" by using the conception of justice espoused by Alasdair MacIntyre in his Whose Justice? Which Rationality? One weakness of the paper that needs correcting is a better understanding of the differences and similarities between Rawls' "comprehensive doctrine" and MacIntyre's "tradition."

A Brief Summation of Hegel's Philosophy of Right

This paper was written for Dr Adriaan Peperzak's "Hegelian Ethics" class in 2002.  It is, as its title suggests, a summary of Hegel's philosophy of right.  Given that Hegel's book is nearly 400 pages in English translation, and Dr Peperzak's own commentary on the Philosophy of Right is upwards of 600 pages, I'm not certain my 15-page summation is all that it should be.

An Ideal Education

This paper was written for Dr Adriaan Peperzak's "Plato" class in 2002.  It is a summary of Plato's Republic, from the vantage point of the paideia of the philosopher-king.  I feel fairly confident about this paper, and was awarded an A for my efforts.[Note: Opens in Adobe Acrobat reader.]

Dismantling Capitalism from Within

In this paper I offer a generally appreciative appraisal of both Herbert Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man and David Schweickart’s After Capitalism. I conclude, however, that the commitment to historical materialism is not enough to make actual the just society Marcuse and Schweickart present.

The Nature of Free Will

In this paper I argue that an Aristotelian understanding of nature and causation  helps to correct naturalist assumptions about free will and determining antecedent causes from within naturalist assumptions.  In the end I argue for a free will within a hylomorphic naturalist perspective.

Plato's Timaeus: To Demythologize or Not to Demythologize

In this paper I argue that the Enlightenment project of demythologization is not only unhelpful in interpreting the Timaeus, but will actually lead the interpreter astray.  I take into account both the larger structural issues of the Timaeus, as well as the more than a dozen times in which the creation myth is referred to as a likely account.  [Note: Opens in Adobe Acrobat reader.]

Essays on Christianity

The Implications of Contradictions

This essay  is also cross-linked to the What Have I Learned section of the Pilgrim Essays.  I wrote this in July and August 2002.  Here I try to come to the best possible resolution for contradictions in teaching between Christian groups.

The Unity of the Church and the Protestant Problem

This  is similarly cross-linked to the What Have I Learned section of the Pilgrim Essays.  I wrote this in  August 2002.  Here I'm trying to come to grips with the New Testament witness for the unity of the Church and what implications that has for the myriad of divisions among the churches of today.

The Necessity of Tradition

This essay is on the need for Church Tradition in properly interpreting Scripture and discerning orthodox Christian belief from heresy.  It is cross-linked with the What Have I Learned page as well.

The Coherence of Christian Theology [NEW!!]

I wrote this essay during August through November 2004.  Here I try to show the inextricable union of all particular Christian doctrines (salvation and theosis, the Resurrection, the Church, the Sacraments, and Mary, for example) in the singular dogma of the Incarnation.

Poetry

Epitaph [1991]

A Farewell to My Mentors [1999]

The Ordinary of the Day [1999]

Send me an email and let me know what you think.

Clifton's Email