Tag Archives: Christianity

Religion in Class? Teach It, Don’t Preach It

By Robin Bates | Published: October 22, 2017

Is academe biased against religion? Maybe to a degree, but religious background is essential for understanding most of the literature we teach.

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Emily Dickinson’s “Smart Misery” of Doubt

By Robin Bates | Published: July 23, 2016

Emily Dickinson struggled with religious doubt all of her life. Because she desperately wanted to belief, some of her poems show her faith being tested.

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A Debate about Sex, Pullman vs. Milton

By Robin Bates | Published: April 2, 2016

This is the 20th anniversary of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” series, which gives me an excuse for once again tilting with the fantasy author and figuring out my own thoughts on our vexed relationship with sexuality and our bodies. Once again I conclude that Milton goes far deeper into these issues than Pullman does.

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Sir Gawain and Celtic Spirituality

By Robin Bates | Published: October 31, 2015

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” may represent the clash between two strains of Christianity which today we describe as Dominionism and Green Christianity. The 14th century poem definitely comes down on the green side.

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The Cross Recounts the Crucifixion

By Robin Bates | Published: April 3, 2015

“Dream of the Rood” tells the story of the crucifixion from the cross’ point of view.

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Enthralled by Anglicanism’s Theatricality

By Robin Bates | Published: October 19, 2014

Spiritual Sunday Last month I posted on a wonderful Alice Munro short story, “The Age of Faith,” about a girl wrestling with issues of faith. In today’s post I look specifically at the protagonist’s experience with the town’s Anglican church since I myself am Anglican (or, as we call it in America, Episcopalian). Most of […]

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