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While in the midst of frantically studying for my comprehensive examinations, I received an opportunity to submit a paper for a conference in Oxford, England. The timing was terrible, and I had no funding so it would be expensive (and besides, what business does a small town Minnesota boy have in Oxford?!). For those reasons, I shot them my wildest idea: "Paul Tillich, Salvation, and Big, Unnecessary, Crazy, Travel Adventure." To my horror, they accepted my proposal and I was then forced to write the paper, fly to England for a extraordinarily wonderful conference, then stop in Iceland on my return voyage for a brief hike in the highlands. Sometimes a wild opportunity deserves a wild swing.

Here's the paper I presented, if you're curious: https://www.academia.edu/8335044/Paul_Tillich_Salvation_and_Big_Unnecessary_Crazy_Travel_Adventure_Reading_Copy_

I am both a religious thinker and an artist. My undergraduate work was in the graphic arts, and my graduate studies were in the philosophy of religion and theology. As the son of a high school art teacher, I was raised in an environment that held as sacred the simple act of slowing down and noticing that which we typically take for granted. My work in theology has taken this insight into its very heart. I've been fascinated with the idea of salvation and the way that forms of prayer which emphasize stillness, silence, and release make room for its experience. These theological sensibilities are almost identical with the generative moment in the creative process. Creativity is, in its essence, the bringing of newness into the world. It's...