Since learning of Samuel Alito’s leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, I have emersed myself in the resulting tidal wave of news reports, opinion pieces, blogs and podcasts. The New York Times podcast The Daily has been one of…
What I learned listening to others who have left the faith
In the wake of the Guidepost report that Southern Baptist Convention executive leaders covered up knowledge of sexual abuse for decades, we are reminded once again of how religious abuse has deeply traumatized millions of our neighbors. One of the ways evangelicals…
United Methodist model could help Southern Baptists recover from sexual abuse scandal
The United Methodist Church hasn’t been immune to incidents of sexual misconduct like those in the Southern Baptist Convention outlined in the Guidepost Solutions report published May 22. However, United Methodists differ from Southern Baptists because they have 40 years’…
Why American democracy is threatened in Ukraine
American democracy is endangered in the most unlikely of places: Ukraine. Events swirling around the Russian invasion of Ukraine have implications for our own freedom. I have no interest in conjuring the apocalyptic visions of rapture believers, but I do…
Roe v. Wade, the great divider
It’s perversely fitting, I suppose, that Roe v. Wade, the most divisive Supreme Court ruling of the past 50 years, will likely be overturned at the most divisive national moment since it was issued, promising even deeper division. Justice Samuel…
Secular revolutions and religious counterrevolutions
In 2015, highly esteemed Princeton political philosopher Michael Walzer published The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions. The title itself immediately arrested me, as it crystallized a current intuition of mine. I believe the United States and several…
Government by quips, tweets and slogans
Once upon a time, a politician with a quick wit conveyed confidence, intelligence and a sense of humor. Americans loved politicians who could think quickly on their feet under pressure. Now, we get packaged, pre-written statements read from a teleprompter….
As report of SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force nears, Southern Baptists are just beginning to count the cost of this work
What will be the final cost of the Southern Baptist Convention’s investigation into allegations of mishandling sexual abuse claims? There are, of course, costs in terms of reputation and witness, but also financial costs that could take years to fully…
Guess what tornadoes blow in? Racial inequality and segregation
Across the decades, residents of “tornado alley” — the expansive swath of central North America visited by twisters every year — have heard myriad stories of inexplicable storm damage. A single piece of straw driven through a tree trunk is…