The Person My Mother Thinks I Am
My mother is fond of telling me, “Scot you’re David!” The David she has in mind is the biblical one. And when she conflates me and King David, I’m positive she is thinking of the …
Faith
Between Two Worlds
I grew up on a small ranch in Northern California. My mother, who was raised in rural Tennessee and loved the land, managed the ranch and home. My father was an Appellate Court Judge in …
Alligator Auschwitz and the Rhetoric of Genocide
There has been considerable hysteria surrounding the Trump presidency this year. Honestly, from my perspective, much of it is deserved. There has been no secret about my disagreement with Trumpian politics or MAGA Christianity. But …
Dual Citizenship: What Does it Mean to be a Christian and a Citizen of the United States?
One of my Facebook friends posted a rather bizarre photo a couple of years ago. He and his sons professed a fervent evangelical Christian faith, as well as a strong dedication to the “Tea Party” …
Saying No to Trump and Yes to God: Understanding the Difference Between God and Mammon
I grew up Pentecostal, the kind of Pentecostal that believed God could speak through dreams, tongues, and the occasional awkward silence between altar calls. We were the kind of church folks who believed in the …
Caring Without Credit: A Posture of Humility
A few years ago, I attended a birthday celebration for a loved one with family and friends. One of the women at the party was known to have been battling a serious case of breast …
Thomas Cole: How Artists Communicate Part III
Imagine for a moment you are on a hike through the woods. The sun is barely up as you start your ascent. The air is cool and fresh as you follow a well-worn trail through …
Why Does Jesus Need a PR guy?
I teach a class called Art and Christian Faith. We talk about a lot of issues in that class that live at the intersection of art, the church, and culture more broadly. The class is …
A Call for Christians: Challenge Hell’s Native Tongue by Telling the Truth About American History
In my 7th-grade history class, I was taught that American slaves were treated well by their masters and that most of them preferred life on the plantation to freedom. This obvious lie was among several …
God Sized Lessons: Existential Crisis, Party of One Please
This wasn’t the first time this type of emotion had haunted me. I remember feeling like this after having my first child. Everyone would say really lovely things, expressing joy for our growing family, while …