May 16Big Brother and the PoorDo we desire justice or do we just want to win? — I was sitting down, preparing to write a piece expanding on something I recently wrote about what it means to be a childlike believer versus being fully grown when my watch vibrated. It was not the buzz I get when I receive a text, so I looked at the screen…Justice7 min readJustice7 min read
May 16Book Review: The SuperhumanitiesHistorical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities by Jeffrey J Kripal — I read a lot of books like this. Explorations of an intellectual topic or a scholarly idea. Concepts primarily. And most of those books tend to be, rather than the author talking about their own ideas and thoughts on the topic, they tend to be criticisms and breakdowns of…Book Review2 min readBook Review2 min read
May 4Half-truths Are No Better Than LiesAnd they hurt just as much — On our shelves, we have all kinds of trinkets and Pop! figures and shot glasses. Some of it is gifts from other people, some of it we purchased on various trips we have gone on, and some are pieces of nostalgia from our childhoods that we somehow managed to hang…Truth Telling6 min readTruth Telling6 min read
May 2Do All Lives Really Matter?A lesson in bigotry — By now, we have all heard the story about the man firing his gun in the middle of the night and the neighbors who came over to ask him to stop only to wind up dead at his hands moments later. It is a genuinely tragic story. It should never…Bigotry5 min readBigotry5 min read
May 1Clean Up Your Mess!Before it gets out of control — My stepdaughter is messy. Things are rarely ever organized for her. We try. We have labeled drawers and we have given her boxes and we have even gone to the trouble of initially doing it for her only to have those efforts completely undone and wasted. It is not entirely…Selfishness6 min readSelfishness6 min read
Apr 28That Time Aliens Invaded the PlaygroundOn growing up — I have an almost photographic memory of my elementary school playground. I have not gone back there in nearly 30 years, but I still remember where each piece of equipment was located. And, unless it has changed, I could find each one without even having to look around to remember. …Aliens8 min readAliens8 min read
Apr 25We Embody What We WorshipAnd you do not have to be religious to worship something — When you walk into a church, what is the first thing you see? I am not talking about the breezeway or the coffee spot or the table with all the pamphlets and signup sheets for various events and classes. Past that. Your walk into the sanctuary and what do you…Religion7 min readReligion7 min read
Apr 23All About ControlGender, conformity, Evangelicals, and fascism — According to the most recent polling, 64% of Americans identify as Christian, which is a far cry from what that number was even in the 1990s. Polls also indicate that this number is in decline year over year. This reality is quickly beginning to undermine their ability to direct the…Gender Identity5 min readGender Identity5 min read
Apr 22Binary Thinking Will Do Us InFurther thoughts on our divisions — Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about dichotomous thinking. My main focus there was to talk about the need for balance and an understanding that not everything falls into a neat little packing that is either right or wrong. Some things fall somewhere in between. I was saying…Binary Thinking5 min readBinary Thinking5 min read
Apr 18Album Review: The Jesus HypothesisThe latest work from Derek Webb strikes a chord — I was first introduced to Derek Webb’s music when he was originally a part of Caedmon’s Call. It was while I was in youth group. I had heard their name but had not really given them the time of day because I typically did not listen to Contemporary Christian Music…Music3 min readMusic3 min read
