I have good news and bad news. First the bad news: I won’t be able to update the blog for a few weeks. That means you’ll be getting a series of “best of” posts. But the reason I can’t update the blog is (cue good news) I’m working on a[…]
Cynicism in the Church
Do Evangelical Celebrities Really Have Worse Kids?
You may have noticed this post is a couple days late. That’s because my original post was *gasp* shrouded in CONTROVERSY. Sort of. My original post’s argument went like this: (1) a declaration that the children of evangelical celebrities are, on average, worse people than children of normal evangelicals; (2)[…]
Let’s Quit with the “Toxic” Talk
There’s a term that gets thrown around a lot that drives me crazy, both for rational and irrational reasons. That term is “toxic.” It seems especially popular with Christians on the Left1 for describing things they dislike on the Right. Traditional sexuality is toxic. The concept of hell is toxic.[…]
“Evangelical Apocalypse:” Rejecting Both Naivete and Cynicism
This week, Ross Douthat had an article that hit close to home. In fact, he pretty much summed the purpose of this blog. You should read the whole thing: here it is. For those of you who didn’t follow the link (for shame!) the article is about how Trump’s presidency[…]
The Enemy of My Enemy Is Not Necessarily My Friend
This take may have cooled a bit, but I’m still going to give it. I wanted to chip in my two cents from the CPAC Milo Yiannopoulos fiasco from a few weeks ago. For those who haven’t heard, CPAC–the largest conservative political gathering in the country–invited Yiannopoulos to be a[…]
How to NOT Be a Cynic at Church: Part 4
In my last post, I rejected a perfectly fine church because it wasn’t perfect enough. In this post, I finally find a church that is utterly perfect. On paper. I also realize the endgame of my cynical perfectionism. Googling Shortly after moving to Los Angeles for law school, I googled[…]
How to NOT Be a Cynic at Church: Part 3
In my last post, I discussed my four requirements for a perfect church. They were: A feeling of antiquity High church trappings Minimal change or commitment from me Perfect doctrinal blend of liberalism and conservatism When I moved back to Colorado Springs, my quest was to find a church with[…]
How to NOT Be a Cynic at Church: Part 2
Last time, I described my love of the Anglo-Catholicism of St. Mary Magdalene’s Church in Oxford.1 But alas, my fairy tale love could never last. The first reason is obvious enough. When the semester abroad ended, I had to go back to America. And there aren’t any thousand year old[…]
How to NOT Be a Cynic at Church: Part 1
My family and I go to International Anglican Church1 in Colorado Springs. For those interested in such things, it’s part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). We think it’s a great church, and we’re happy and content. But it took me a long time to get to “happy[…]