Essays on Faith and Ordinary Life

I’m Harvey. I write about what it’s like to live by faith when faith feels hard — doubt, weariness, ordinary days. Not advice. Not a finished testimony. Just the truth as I can tell it.

If that sounds familiar, start with five stories that shaped me — or read how I got here.

Transcendence as Self-Annihilation

God chose a human body twice—at His incarnation, and at His resurrection. Having lived and died as a man, Jesus also rose from the dead as a man. The glorified human body of Jesus Christ, a prototype for all who will follow Him in resurrection, has no distance whatsoever from anything that is good.

— THEOLOGY, WORK

I write about doubt, trust, weariness, and grace — stories from my own life, not advice. If you want them, I’ll send new essays when they’re ready.

Recent essays

  1. John the Baptist and John Steinbeck on Integrity

    To our capitalist ear, this sounds out of tune. But it's at home in the Kingdom of God. — THEOLOGY, COMMUNITY

  2. On the Church as Cosmic Immune System

    As agents of God, the redeemed people of the covenant are called to resist evil, promote good, and participate in the preservation and healing of a decaying world. — THEOLOGY, COMMUNITY

  3. On Negation

    God has promised us this. He says everything will work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. God says, 'No!' to our deepest hurts and turns our wounds into wisdom. — THEOLOGY

  4. On Taking the Next Step

    Each next step is not a referendum on my value as a person but an avenue for growth. I am one small person among many, so my next choice, no matter how earth-shattering it may seem to me, is relatively unserious. — FAITH, WORK

  5. Noticers, Rememberers, and Storytellers

    Our busyness, which we may think marks our importance, might actually be a travesty if the reason we are here is to notice all the details of living—to feel, hear, taste, and see the truth of being alive. — TESTIMONY, WORK

  6. The Reformation, Individualism, and the Fractured Church

    I'm not sure he was right. — THEOLOGY, COMMUNITY

  7. Turning the Corner

    I want my work to be my salvation—spiritual, physical, relational. Though I know that 'godliness with contentment is great gain,' I have a lust for more. — TESTIMONY, WORK

  8. Right Doctrine and the Wrong Spirit

    I love to be correct, and when I feel I have understood something thoroughly, I can occasionally become belligerent in argumentation. — COMMUNITY, THEOLOGY

  9. Brilliant Minds Chasing Ancient Demons

    We dismiss the Living God as primitive while we chase the ancient spirits worshiped by primitive man. — THEOLOGY, WORK

  10. Sip of Coffee, Moving Pen

    Writing habit is, simply put, vulnerability. Exposing my deepest self and most tentative ideas is a habit that costs me. So I'd rather read someone else's writing than create my own. — TESTIMONY, FAITH

Read More Essays →

I built Ignaria for questions like these — a research tool for theological and philosophical texts.

Try a question