John Lee Wagas
Writer / Chaplain / Nerd
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Being and becoming. In being, something is, existing as it is. In becoming, one is actively in the process of change. In both, the subject in question is engaged in a dynamic existence marked by transformation, movement, alteration, and transcendence. While this may seem like lofty metaphysics (although to a degree, it is), everything in…
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You meet in a tavern … Well, we actually met in freshman year during science class. Fine, that’s not entirely accurate either. They both knew each other from elementary school, and I first became friends with one of them in math back in middle school and the other over the course of freshman year. From…
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Virtue is often seen as something incredibly lofty—an unattainable standard which one can merely aspire to. As distant as virtue may seem, it is indeed achievable. Doubt it? I do too. But take Aristotle’s words to heart when he beckons us to realize that virtue is not only possible but practical. To live a virtuous…
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You are dust, and to dust you shall return. These words are anything but comforting. And what’s worse and that they came from the mouth of God, which makes it sting even more. What’d you just call me? Dust? While not addressed directly to us—the entirety of humanity—in the context of the scriptural passage, God’s…
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Often, as I walk through the halls of my university’s Humanities building to get to class, I often pass by a study room containing, among other things, a bookcase with a piece of paper taped to one of its glass doors with two words printed on it: free books. If there’s anything I love more…
“When love chooses, it chooses with a perfect sensitivity for the unique beauty of the chosen one, and it chooses without making anyone else feel excluded.”
— Henri Nouwen, The Life of the Beloved
10th
May ’22
Philosophy & Religion
Truly God, Truly Man: An Application of the Yin-Yang and Hegelian Models to the Christological Theories of Chalcedon and Monophysitism
An examination of the Yin-yang and Hegelian dialectic models followed by an exploration of their relation to the contrasting Christological approaches of Chalcedon and Monophysitism from early patristic Christianity.
8th
Dec ’23
Religion & Theology
Radical, Ravishing, Holy Love: Eroticism, God, and Divine Love in Christian Mysticism
A contextualization of the erotic and sexual ethics in the broad Christian tradition paired with an examination of erotic spirituality in Christian mysticism through the medieval monastic figures Bernard of Clairvaux and Teresa of Avila.
7th
July ’23
Religion & Theology
Bridging Divinity & Humanity: Personhood in Eastern Orthodox Theology
Drawing from the works of numerous contemporary theologians in order to analyze Eastern Othrodoxy’s approach to personhood, particularly regarding the subjects of relationship, identity, and purpose.
2025
March 17
Earth & Altar
From the Shire to the Altar
In this article reflecting on the eucharist, .
Between the vibrant hardcover spines bearing the names of familiar authors and the thick binders of my teacher’s lesson plans lay an unassuming black paperback. Its title, The Hobbit, rendered in a humble typeface, seemed almost hidden amid the vivid hues of nearby books. I was in third grade then, entranced by stories of time travel and talking animals penned by Mary Pope Osborne and Lemony Snicket…: You’re Not Alone2023
October 26
Spartan Media Group
Faculty focus on human connection
This article from my time as an undergraduate at San Jose State University.
Religious studies senior John Wagas is currently enrolled in Zárate’s Middle Eastern Traditions asynchronous course. “For me, at the heart of it, is engaging in religious conversation in the first place,” Wagas said…: You’re Not Alone
John Lee Wagas 