David Dark is one of my favorite writers and thinkers, and for years now, I often finish reading him and think, “I wish I’d written that!” A professor of religion and the arts at Belmont University and an authority on…
Make room: A reflection on a trip to the U.S./Mexico Border
The tiny feet of a growing baby kicked my hand as we prayed with a young mother just south of the Texas border in Reynosa, Mexico. Surrounded by blankets on a concrete floor and the sounds of a refugee village encircling…
We’re on a mission from God? Why America needs the church, not Christian nationalism
In the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, Elwood and Jake set out to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised. As the brothers try to get their band back together to pay the orphanage’s $5,000 in back taxes, Elwood and…
The 1948 Deir Yassin massacre as a prequel to today’s war in Gaza
“The compulsory transfer of Arabs from the valleys of the proposed Jewish state could give us something which we never had, even when we stood on our own feet during the days of the First and Second Temple. … We…
The church could increase resilience in survivors
Resilience is the ability to bounce back or rebound from adversity. We see this in how trees bend in the wind, how shorelines adapt to change or how a forest recovers from a wildfire. We also see resilience in humans…
What is going on at America’s elite universities?
Today’s national news has been filled with yet more headlines about unrest on the campuses of some of the nation’s most elite universities. It’s starting to feel like 1970 all over again. From today’s news alone: “More than 40 pro-Palestinian…
The post-evangelicals take their next step forward
History may well record that April 16-17, 2024, marked a breakthrough moment in the emergence of an organized post-evangelical Christian movement in the United States. It certainly felt like a breakthrough to this participant-observer, as I had the privilege of…
Toxic crusaders: The rise of the ultracrepidarian-turned-influencer
George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” Ultracrepidarians are individuals who fancy themselves as experts in subjects which they know little to nothing about. While they may come across as confident, their…
Surrounded by trees: An Earth Day celebration and lament
One of the many blessings of my current home is its location. No matter what direction you look, you will see trees. And not just a few in our yard, but a forest. We are surrounded by majestic pines, maples…