About C. R. Wiley

C. R. Wiley is a Presbyterian pastor living in the Pacific Northwest. He is the author of In the House of Tom Bombadil, Man of the House: A Handbook for Building a Shelter That Will Last in a World That is Falling Apart, and The Purloined Boy. He has written for various publications, including Touchstone Magazine, Modern Reformation, Sacred Architecture, National Review Online, and First Things. He’s also been a college professor, a commercial real estate investor, and a home improvement contractor.

Review of Religion for Atheists: A Nonbeliever’s Guide

By |2013-12-17T15:52:28-06:00July 5th, 2013|Categories: Atheism, Books, C. R. Wiley, Christianity|

Religion for Atheists: A Nonbeliever’s Guide to the Uses of Religion by Alain de Botton. When I learned that Alain de Botton had written a book with the title, Religion for Atheists: A Nonbeliever’s Guide to the Uses of Religion I thought, why of course he has. I was introduced to de Botton through, The Architecture [...]

Notes to the Reader of the Young Man’s Guide to Building a House

By |2014-08-14T16:59:24-05:00June 12th, 2013|Categories: C. R. Wiley, Culture|Tags: , |

I am very hopeful about our long-term prospects, it is the near-term ones I’m worried about.  What’s the near-term?—the next few hundred years, give or take a century. Since the near-term is when my children and grandchildren will pass their lives I feel I should do something to help them. I’ve passed the half-life stage [...]

Sister Coulsey’s Furnace

By |2014-01-17T12:04:25-06:00May 11th, 2013|Categories: C. R. Wiley, Fiction, Literature, Moral Imagination|

Pastor Ricky had placed all his hopes on the Hawaiian shirt. He wanted to connect with people and he had seen one of those television preachers wearing one. The people at the TV preacher’s church were all tanned and good-looking. Some were even drinking coffee during the service. I need what that guy has, Ricky [...]

Lost and Found in the Cosmos: Lovecraft, Lewis & Alien Worlds

By |2019-05-30T12:21:58-05:00March 29th, 2013|Categories: C. R. Wiley, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Featured, Literature, Moral Imagination|

Recently some astronomers discovered two earth-sized planets orbiting Kepler-20, a star roughly 1,000 light years away. Congratulations to them; their detective work was nearly as awe-inspiring as the news. A flurry of articles followed the find, speculating on the nature of these worlds, along with a little speculation on whether or not we will ever [...]

Saving Nature from the Hippies

By |2018-10-06T02:31:03-05:00February 17th, 2013|Categories: C. R. Wiley, Nature|

  So I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I like granola. But since when did getting a little closer to nature make you a hippie? There’s probably a better word—but hippie just works for me. They’ve won by the way—the hippies I mean. Not the unkemptness thankfully, but the outlook. You can see [...]

Stirred by Shakers: On the Elegant Errors of a Failed Sect

By |2015-08-24T12:33:56-05:00January 3rd, 2013|Categories: Art, Books, C. R. Wiley, Christianity, Film|

When it comes to the opinion of the people who matter, the Shakers are hip. They had all the correct views: They practiced sustainable agriculture and gender equality, and they even reduced their carbon footprint to almost zero. (There are said to be only three Shakers left in North America—that’s what celibacy will do for [...]

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