Most of the posts here are about what I do in the classroom, mostly geek stuff. But I am also a Christian who believes God plays an active role in my life. I have experienced too much to doubt this.

But it is also true that as a professor, there is a dynamic that I have to be careful about with students. Since I have the rights to assign grades, I try to be careful not to make students feel that their beliefs might impact their grades. I work with students from too many different backgrounds and I never want them to worry that their faith will be an issue with me.

On the other hand, I also try not to hide my Christian beliefs, and the way that affects how I live my life and treat others.

The dust-up over Brit Hume’s comments about Tiger Woods at first seemed to be the kind of thing I sometimes worry about: how can a Christian tell a Buddhist what to do?

This article from Michael Gerson in the Washington Post is a great way of thinking about this (I think). In the absence of coercive power, why wouldn’t someone offer a life preserver that worked for them to another person in pain?

UPDATE: Brit’s comments.