I took a rather forgettable class my junior year in college. The course was titled “American Intellectual History II,” although I do not ever recall seeing “American Intellectual History I” or “American Intellectual History III” ever offered in the course…
What will it take to unite a divided U.S.? The answer might surprise you.
In the feature story of March’s Atlantic Monthly, James Fallows asks, “Can America Put Itself Back Together?” Fallows’ surprising good news is that he believes America can.
Where is the ‘I’ in ‘we’?
The charter of the United Nations begins with “We the people.” The U.N. is the one organization that ostensibly ties all of the world’s people together. And yet I’m sure that swaths of human beings don’t identify themselves as a…
God, guns, freedom, and idolatry in America
After another mass shooting last week, I watched countless conversations about mass killings unfold on social media and in the news cycle. As many Christians defended complete and total legislative inaction in the wake of wonton violence, I was literally…
A modest proposal for future patriotic celebrations
Memorial Day is approaching. Students are looking forward to “warming-up” for summer vacation, and families are anticipating weekend festivities around beaches, swimming pools, and backyard grills. American flags will be prominently displayed, and most U.S. citizens at least intend to…
The ‘next America’ demands change from churches
The headline for this column is misleading. The “next America” actually is the “now America.” To paraphrase the late cartoon character Pogo, “We have seen the future, and it is here.” And it means most Baptist congregations and their denomination…
christian cruise directing.
When I was 15 years old, I went on a Carnival cruise with my family to the Caribbean. “All good stories begin with a boat.” -Science There are few things that more aptly embody the zeitgeist of the modern American…
Christianity at a crossroads in America
Christianity, along with other faith traditions, is at a crossroads in American life. Many sociologists see the road leading us to a European secularism, where mostly-empty churches are monuments to the hollowed-out faith of the masses, and serve as reminders…
Norman Rockwell and Blanche Dubois
Say the name “Norman Rockwell,” and immediately iconic images of vintage Americana spring to mind. His paintings for Boy Scouts of America and for the covers of the Saturday Evening Post all portray a vision of American life that we…