Arthur J. Dewey is Professor of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati. He has caught on that the time-starved public now more than ever wants short essays, reviews, broadcasts, or religious messages. Here you will find 251 curated essays — 212 radio commentaries from the Saturday Morning Edition on Public Radio Station WVXU and 40 editorials from The Fourth R magazine, the public face of the Westar Institute, the home of the national Jesus Seminar. They cover a time frame from late 1995 through the middle of 2015.
Dewey sees it as the task of theologians to reflect upon the fads, happenings, hopes, and fears of our times. He calls these wisdom notes "raids on the inarticulate." He has divided them into ten thematic categories including On the Road, Seasons & Feasts, Cultural Asides, Political Soundings, and Reports from the Trenches.
Among the most creative of Dewey's cogent musings are a list of the Seven Wonders To Be of Cincinnati; a piece noting that one airline gives free tickets to passengers who surprisingly act human to others; an affirmation of the Day of the Dead as a time for kicking up the dust to which we shall return; an inspirational glimpse of Steve Biko and the important role he played in the fight against apartheid in South Africa; a note on the heated custody battle over Howdy Doody, the popular puppet star of the 1950s television program; a thoughtful probe on the reason why America is getting more and more mean-spirited; and many more insights into the mad, mad world in which we perform our improvised dramas.
