A friend sent me this piece in Salon, posted under the provocative title, “How Evangelicals Abandoned Christianity and Became ‘Conservatives’ Instead.” I was not familiar with the author, Nathaniel Manderson, who identifies himself as an evangelical pastor trained at a…
This Fourth, bring forth civility
In many ways, our nation is divided more than ever. People are hunkering down into tribes, holding fast to thoughts and actions that scream, ‘If you’re not fully aligned with me, you’re against me.’ So we wrestle as we look…
A wish list for the common good in a new era
With the presidential inauguration, a new session of Congress and state legislatures gearing up, Americans receive fresh reminders to look toward the future with hope. Of course, we place ultimate trust in God and not government. But we propel our…
Listen more, speak less, dispel anger with love
Our country is politically torn apart. This is the reality that greets us every day in the national media, regardless of which network, website or newspaper we follow. Our states are labeled by their Republican or Democratic governors, eliciting opinions…
Southern Baptist civility study examines why we don’t get along
Read a newspaper, put down the smart phone and get to know your neighbors. These are among suggested remedies for a “caustic, toxic, ignorant and corrosive” American public square in a study released last week by the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The civility of discourse
“They’ll tell anything on you down in town.” So the serpent-handling woman says as she sits on her Appalachian front porch, killing flies and defending her church’s approach to the sixteenth chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Whether in cheap novels, academic…
No one knows how to argue anymore
By John Chandler One of my favorite childhood Monty Python skits was the “Argument Clinic.” A man goes in to purchase a proper vigorous debate, and is merely told by the attendant the opposite of whatever he says. “That’s not…
Political correctness, again
By Jason Coker I’ll never forget something Bob Dole said about Bill Clinton back in the ’90s when they were running against each other for the presidency. It was a classic example of political right versus political left. Bob Dole,…
Civility in the midst of election season?
Now that another presidential election season is upon us, we need to remember the importance of civility in the public square. No matter where we stand on a political, social, or cultural issue, God calls us to be kind and…