My name is Bradley Palmer, and the attached photograph is now ten years old, so I’m only slightly as handsome and cool as I was back then.

I have a degree in Graphic Design from TCU with a minor in philosophy, as well as a Masters in Theological Studies from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, where I completed an emphasis in the Philosophy of Religion. I attended Iliff knowing I was a bit of an outlier, and loved every minute of it. But while most other students were focused on Ministry Degrees, and Comparative Religious Studies, and issues of Religion and Social Justice, I was focused on Religious Epistemology and the Twentieth Century Philosophy of Language.

Anyway, this is my blog site, and it’s called The Palm Branch, not simply because the palm branch is a symbol of peace and union, but because this term is the origin of my family name. Someone in my lineage many years ago made a Pilgrimage from either England or Scotland to the Holy Land and returned with a palm leaf as verification of their trip. Thus my family name “Palmer”, which gains a mention early in the prologue to the Canterbury Tales, which I’m sure everyone has read many times.

On top of this, the word “Branch” infers my possible membership in MI6, which I can neither confirm nor deny, nor can I divulge my relationship to James Bond. All I can say to that is “James, I will use the traditional coding system.”

But ignore that. This is a blog about Religion, Philosophy, and Culture. I promise.