The Sower and the land
Of all the parables of Jesus, one of the most important, interesting, and of course one of my favorites, is the Parable of the Sower. In my opinion, it should be foundational for thinking about …
Christianity
Christian Democrat: Free stuff you didn’t pay for…the heart of the Gospel
The great, and at times frustrating, thing about my Facebook wall is the diversity of my friends and their willingness to engage in discussion. I have conservative Tea Party friends, Socialist friends, Christian friends, Atheist …
Horrors of the hive mind
I recently enjoyed the opportunity to contribute a chapter to a collection of essays reflecting on the influence of media during the Trump presidency. American Television During a Television Presidency was edited by Dr. Karen …
The poverty of systematic theology
I come from a religious tradition that values Systematic Theology. And I have to admit, I like systematic theology. So why am I then writing about the poverty of systematic theology? A few years ago, …
The scam of commercialized Christianity
In a recent Religious News Service article, Karen Swallow Prior (KSP) criticized what she termed the “Biblical Manhood Industry” as a scam within Evangelical circles. This industry, she argues, prioritizes stereotypical ideals of masculinity more …
Considering the idea of a biblical worldview
The concept of a Christian worldview is fundamentally simple, but its implications are profound. There are a modest number of foundational assumptions necessary to view the world from a Christian perspective. Beyond that the task …
Thinking about gossip
If you have grown up in the evangelical church or spent much time in it at all you have heard discussions about gossip. There is no doubt that gossip is condemned in scripture. But, I …
Recovering from religious trauma: Extinguishing the gas lights
Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play Gas Light tells the story of a young woman named Bella Manningham whose husband Jack exhibits suspicious behavior. He engages in improper flirtation with the servants and goes out for long …
The costly wars on history: Censorship and books
Book burning and censorship campaigns seemed a relic of the past in the rural middle-class world where I grew up. We vigorously attacked the censorship of the repressive Soviet Union and insisted that Americans stood …
Loving “The Donald”
I first wrote this reflection in 2015 and was concerned then about the evangelical embrace of hateful ideologies and rhetoric. Sadly, that embrace has only grown stronger. I am proud to see old essays like …