Ever since Joe Rigney released his book about empathy being a sin, the TheoBros of conservative evangelicalism have been piling into his bus, demonizing empathy for those they run over as “the greatest rhetorical tool of manipulation in the 21st…
KPop Demon Hunters — the Brené, the bad and the beautugly
Over Zoom, my young-adult counseling client smiled when I noticed her new poster hanging on the wall behind her. The active-duty military service member said, “It’s Huntrix — the musical group from the movie KPop Demon Hunters.” Later I saw…
State-sanctioned abuse and the fragility of violent regimes
Although violence occurring at the hands of ICE agents may seem overwhelming and shocking, historically speaking, it is an unsurprising tactic of empire. Oppressors use violence, fear and illegal measures to account for their weaknesses. BNG’s Mara Richards Bim has…
Little platoons and voluntary associations: Burke, Tocqueville and the moral architecture of belonging
There are moments in the history of political thought when two thinkers, separated by time and temperament, nevertheless circle the same human truth. Edmund Burke and Alexis de Tocqueville lived in separate centuries — Burke, 18th; Tocqueville, 19th — but…
Kid Rock and evangelicals’ obsession with celebrity
In a world where everyone cycles through being an expert, the week after the Super Bowl typically turns into everyone posing as professional semioticians, offering their artistic analysis of the Super Bowl halftime show and the game. Most often, this…
Five key takeaways on political violence in America
At a time when political violence is rising in the United States, PRRI’s latest survey, released last month, examines Americans’ views on the drivers of political violence, when violent actions may be justified and which groups are most responsible for causing it. There…
What Allie Beth Stuckey gets wrong about the Bible and diversity
If you spent any time on X (formerly Twitter) the last week, you probably saw the clip from Allie Beth Stuckey’s podcast — you know, the one where she questions the value of ethnic diversity. “Yes, the kingdom of God…
Why you should care about the Epstein Files
“I am so very exhausted. My body feels so tired. Will I ever be free?” This is a de-coded quote from the diary of a teenager trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Along with references to being raped by…
Mike Johnson needs to read the whole Bible
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s foray into biblical exegesis reveals nothing new but does rehash an old evangelical template of “two kingdom” theology. In Johnson’s view, nations and governments are immune from God’s judgment when they oppress those labeled…
This couple believes Christians must double down on peacebuilding
In a world marked by war, political polarization, religious violence and collective trauma, the Christian call to peacemaking can sound either impossibly idealistic or dangerously naïve. For Daniel L. Buttry and Sharon Buttry, however, peacebuilding never has been an abstract…
Josh Howerton redefines following Jesus as becoming empire
Josh Howerton is an authoritarian theocrat who thinks his penis, pulpit and piety give him the right to rule the world. In a recent episode of his “Live Free” podcast, Howerton accuses YouTuber Rhett McLaughlin of gaslighting Christians. And in doing so,…
Murder and lies in Minneapolis: What’s it all about?
According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump made 30,573 misleading statements between 2016 and 2020, more than half of them during the final year of his first term in office. In Trump’s second term, the Post has lost its enthusiasm…