About

I’m an Episcopal priest in White Plains, NY.   I like to dance salsa, thus “padremambo.”

The Divine Latitude alludes to the disposition of “latitudinarianism.”  It is a sensible, pragmatic theological position.  One I’m glad to inherit.

I do not ascribe to the hermeneutic sensibilities of fundamentalists, flat-earthers, and biblical inerrantists.  My heresy of choice is semi-Pelagianism, although sometimes I’m too distracted.  I have been accused of being Arminian, Erastian and Socinian, but really it’s just because I like a good Shiraz and cigar.  I believe champagne and scones are sacraments.

My theology is Girardian infused with liturgically powered oriental/orthodox mysticism.  My favorite theologians are David Bentley Hart, Rowan Williams, and James Alison.  However, I’ve been influenced by non-realists, panentheists, and a/theology.  I believe that substitutionary, especially penal, atonement theology represents Satan’s work, and should be rejected by followers of Christ as another form of the sacred violence Jesus overcame.

For politics I especially enjoy reading Thomas Frank, Michael Lind, Paul Krugman and Nate Silver.   I also enjoy reading Theodore Dalrymple, David Frum and Kathleen Parker.

I occasionally blog about J. M. Keynes, Kenneth Arrow, Joseph Schumpeter, and Henry George.  I have sympathies for distributism and cooperativism.  I believe in a commercial economy, but agree that markets are often clumsy and the public has an interest in taxing greed.

My favorite intellectuals include Wendell Berry, Christopher Lasch and Elaine Scarry. I still read Raymond Williams, Marshall McCluhan, Neil Postman and RH Tawney for inspiration.

Favorite Books: Blindness by Jose Saramago; Disgrace by JM Coetzee; A Fine Balance by Rohanton Mistry; Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

I love the poets Alicia Stallings, Mary Oliver, Seamus Heaney, Stephen Dunn, Cornelius Eady, Donald Hall, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Geoffrey Hill.

Although I’m sympathetic to the concerns of Hobbes, Machiavelli and Burke, Marx understood that capitalism, and its technological power, changes culture.   I understand Marx through Burke.

Institutionalism and behaviorism seem to accurately explain our current context.  I remain suspicious of statism, progressivism, consumerism and utopianism.  I once taught about modern anarchism, but now I’m more like a Red Tory.   I would probably vote for an anti-racist, good government wing of the Republican party.    Although I realize that they’ve been forced into becoming Democrats.

Ulysses S. Grant was an underrated president.

I used to blog as John Wilkins, the Salty Vicar.

When choosing between Marx, Nietzsche, Freud or Jesus, Jesus wins.