Why I stopped saying ‘All Lives Matter’
When the Black Lives Matter movement began back in 2013, I didn’t get it. At the time, the murder of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his killer seemed to be a terrible one-off case …
Christianity
Being a Black Christian today
This piece originally appeared on the Website for Wayhouse Media on June 4, 2020 under the title “Being a Black Christian in 2020.” Matt Allbritton, the owner of Wayhouse, has joined the contributing authors at …
The death of George Floyd: A Christian response
This piece originally appeared on the Website for Wayhouse Media on June 1, 2020. Matt Allbritton, the owner of Wayhouse, has joined the contributing authors at Faith on View. Essays previously published by Wayhouse Media …
What grieves me about the January 6th insurrection
As horrifying as the January 6th insurrection was for our democracy, that was not what made me grieve. As purposefully dishonest as the lies were from QAnon, former President Trump, cable news hosts, and the …
Not all idols are made of stone: Evangelical idolatry and the midterms
It was the philosopher William James who observed in his The Varieties of Religious Experience, “there can be no doubt that as a matter of fact a religious life, exclusively pursued, does tend to …
The Religious Narcissist: Sitting in the Pew and Quoting Scripture
It seems like everyone knows a narcissist these days. It isn’t a term I really thought about a decade ago. After I left a teaching position with a corrupt president, I started hearing people refer …
The day evangelicals lost their testimony: Falwell endorsed Trump
A few years ago, I was teaching a week-long course at the Grunewald Guild. There had been some drama with one of the interns and his perception that the environment was repressive, which is not …
Put away your swords -Lamenting the celebration of Kyle Rittenhouse
When the life of Jesus was threatened by an angry mob, Peter, one of His most impetuous disciples, stepped up to defend the life of Christ with a sword. Peter famously cut off the …
The religious roots of Striketober
Though it is getting little coverage outside of what is being inaccurately described as a “worker shortage,” the United States is in the middle of a quiet but growing reactivated labor movement. Nabisco, Kellogg and …
Midnight Mass’s Allegory: Flourishing in our Fanatical Times
Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series Midnight Mass presents a chilling allegory on faith, fanaticism, forgiveness, family, and friendship. Spoilers follow, so beware if you haven’t seen all seven episodes yet. If you haven’t, I highly recommend …