A couple weeks ago, I argued that “toxic” was a weasel word that progressive Christians use too much. On my Facebook page,1 a reader2 pointed out that conservative Christians have their own weasel words. One in particular caught my attention: liberal. I think that’s spot-on. And yes, I have several[…]
Civility is a hot topic lately. Based on the smoke from my Twitter feed, here’s where we stand: The Left has just abandoned civility because Trump is causing an EXISTENTIAL CRISIS! The Right abandoned civility the moment they made Trump their presidential nominee/warlord. Despite this, they are currently complaining about[…]
Evangelical support for Donald Trump has made me think about the Trolley Problem. You haven’t heard of the trolley problem? No worries–you were just too busy with your social life to pay attention to your Philosophy 101 course in college. The Trolley Problem is a popular ethics hypothetical. It’s ridiculously[…]
Okay, one more post about evangelical identity. At least until my next post. Some of us in the evangelical world were masochistic enough to follow the aftermath of the 2016 election. For we unhappy few, one number stands out: 81. That’s the supposed percent of white evangelicals who voted for[…]
“Yeah, if I was in Germany during World War II, I probably would have been a Nazi.” And with that, Eric ruined our meal at Chick-Fil-A. Trying to lighten the mood, I asked if he needed to talk with our Bible professors about in my best deadpan. He laughed. “No.[…]
Last week(ish), I gave the first reason I loved being a firebrand conservative in college. This week, it’s on to reason number two: being hardcore conservative made me feel manly. I’ve already documented my…complicated relationship with evangelicals and manliness. For those who didn’t catch it the first time, I talk[…]
In my last post, I shared three reasons I liked being a firebrand conservative in college: It gave a narrative to the world and my place in it. It made me feel manly. It let me feel different in a good way. I also said I’d discuss each reason over[…]
Last week was about all the ways politics terrified me as a boy. This week is about the moment it all changed. My family was caravanning to Michigan for a reunion. At a gas station outside Wichita, I hopped out to stretch my legs in the dense July air. My[…]
Last week, I opened my series on evangelicals and politics with my vague boyhood idea that Republicans were good, and Democrats were bad. But that wasn’t my only vague idea. When I was a kid, politics terrified me. *** “You know what the real problem is–relying on government for everything.”[…]
My first political memory is strangely vivid. It was November of 1992, and my dad was driving me to Kindergarten. The radio announcer, in a tone as soggy as the weather, discussed Bill Clinton’s recent election. “Bill Clinton is stupid!” I proclaimed, feet kicking the dashboard. “Don’t say that,” my[…]