This article originally appeared at ‘Reading Religion,’ a publication of the American Academy of Religion. In Religion’s Power: What Makes It Work, Robert Wuthnow investigates the power dynamics of religion by studying the mechanisms by which it is practiced. Drawing on his ethnographic and historical experience in sociology and religion, he proposes that religion’s power to […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on October 2, 2023. We first met her nearly two decades ago as a neatly wrapped character named Shannon Hendrickson in a bestselling “Boy Meets Girl” book written by her ex-husband about his theology of courtship after kissing dating goodbye. The character we were told about had led […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on September 21, 2023. LGBTQ kids who grow up in conservative evangelical families tend to have father wounds because evangelicals view LGBTQ people as given over by God to a reprobate mind for the degrading of their bodies and therefore eternally condemned. The challenge many conservative evangelical parents […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on September 19 2023. How can journalists reach evangelicals who get triggered by the term “climate change”? This is the question Rebecca Randall asks in a piece last week for BioLogos. Despite the fact that 97% of scientists accept climate science and 92% of Americans who identify as “highly religious” […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on September 8, 2023. With week one of the college football season kicking off last weekend, fans across the country began dreaming once again about the gridiron glories of violence and victory. And for the parts of American culture shaped by white evangelicals, these simmering passions carry culture […]
One struggle I have as a religion writer is with how to cover a topic that includes voices that trigger and hurt people I care about. For example, if I was a political analyst for CNN, I would need to cover Republicans and Democrats. And while I would be very focused on exposing the Christian […]
“For example, a housewife in her backyard may be asked by a man how to get to the freeway. At that point she is giving a kind of leadership. She has superior knowledge that the man needs and he submits himself to her guidance. But we all know that there is a way for that […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on August 29, 2023. Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington is an opportunity to reflect not only on the vision of Black liberationists, but also on how conservative white evangelicals’ resistance to change is continuing through an entitlement to power rooted in insecurity. Al Sharpton, […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on August 22, 2023. Note: This article includes an explicit discussion of sexuality. Desiring God’s latest installment of cheap Screwtape Letter knockoffs features Greg Morse attempting to mimic C.S. Lewis’ classic novel by writing a letter from a “marriage counselor” demon named Grimrod to his dear nephew Globdrop. In […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on August 18, 2023. “Wicked looks at what happened in the land of Oz — but from a different angle,” the most popular show on Broadway advertises. “So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.” As we shuffled out of the theater at the end of the show, we were […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on August 11, 2023. Last Saturday afternoon, historian Kristin Du Mez sat down at her computer to see if her new friend Lindsay Booker had posted any updates about the gathering Booker organized earlier that day at the Madison Library in Huntsville, Ala. Even though Du Mez was […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on August 7, 2023. Christian supremacism has gotten completely out of hand in the United States. We’ve seen it in the insurrection warfare of the New Apostolic Reformation, the battle against librarians by the likes of Kirk Cameron, the desire to punish homosexuality by Al Mohler, Dan Patrick’s claims that God wrote the […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on July 28, 2023. I wasn’t allowed to watch Toy Story 2 when I was 21 years old because the trailer depicted a group of Barbies in bikinis led by Tour Guide Barbie. So when I found out some influential conservatives were having a conniption fit over the Warner Bros new Barbie movie, […]
I appeared on the Beached White Male Podcast today to discuss my story as well as three pieces I’ve written on eugenics, Tim Scott and complementarianism. Check it out!
I appeared on the Full Mutuality podcast today to discuss the news over the past year about Bob Jones University. Check it out!
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on July 21, 2023. I haven’t attended church in almost four years and can’t imagine going back. I don’t share this lightly. I was so dedicated to the church that I structured my entire career spanning two decades cleaning restrooms and floors in order to have the flexibility to volunteer many hours […]
I appeared on the Full Mutuality podcast today, along with author Scott Okamoto to discuss our experiences as being stay-at-home dads. Check it out!
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on July 13, 2023. I toted my brood of children through Target, as Kevin DeYoung suggested, when suddenly I noticed the display of Pride T-shirts. At first, I thought it was nice that my LGBTQ neighbors would receive kind messages like “Free Mom Hugs” and “You Belong.” It seemed especially […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on July 5, 2023. “I’ve been struggling with regret lately, specifically in feeling like I wasted my whole academic career (given how things have turned out),” tweeted Karen Swallow Prior three months after resigning from the faculty of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. When she announced her retirement in March, Prior […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on June 28, 2023. “Lois! Get me my 10-cubed Pepsi!” my former Bible professor would yell across the house in their biblical home. His wife would immediately drop whatever she was doing, fill a glass with exactly 10 ice cubes, pour his Pepsi, and hand it to him […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on June 22, 2023. While the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat to win the NBA title for the first time in their 47-year history last week, Southern Baptist complementarians defeated the egalitarians to win the title of “pastor” exclusively for men for the first time in their […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on June 13, 2023. The PGA Tour shocked the world last week with its announcement of a collaboration with LIV Golf. As much as this is about the business of golf, it’s also about the complexities of systemic injustice and the need to deconstruct hierarchies in the global clash […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on June 7, 2023. Collectively watching Amazon Prime’s Shiny Happy People docuseries is foolish if we’re not willing to deconstruct the entire conservative evangelical tower of Babel it reveals. Of course, individuals watching the series may have deeply sensitive trauma they’re reminded of and still processing. Rebekah Drumsta, a survivor […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on June 2, 2023. During most trips down the interstate, drivers mindlessly zoom past billboards bombarding them with a blur of messages on their way to wherever they’re going. But every once in a while, travelers are confronted with a message about a different destination — their eternal […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on May 25, 2023. Republican Sen. Tim Scott entered the presidential race this week, hoping to loosen Donald Trump’s grip on the party with “an optimistic, positive message anchored in conservatism” while appealing to voters who are willing to welcome common sense and common ground. His emphasis on […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on May 19, 2023. The past few months have been marked by evangelical men writing about sexuality in ways that center their perspective and pleasure while ignoring the perspectives and pleasure of women. In one interview about his controversial book, Josh Butler said he continues to see his theology of sexuality […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on May 12, 2023. One of the most under-the-radar battles going on within American evangelicalism today is a civil war between Christian higher education and the local church. If you’ve missed this new trend, there’s a good reason: The more overt stories of abuse within schools and churches […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on May 1, 2023. A couple of months ago, I attended a gathering with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and had the opportunity to be a part of a Q&A session with him afterward. One elderly woman asked him, “Where does God fit into all this?” Tyson began his […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on April 20, 2023. When The Gospel Coalition and The Keller Center scapegoated Josh Butler due to his article about sex and the church — an excerpt taken from his Beautiful Union book they previously hailed as “the Protestant magnum opus on sexual ethics we’ve been waiting for” — many people wondered […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on April 13, 2023. Ten days after defending his decision to endorse Josh Butler’s controversial book about Jesus, marriage and sex, Preston Sprinkle released a Theology in the Raw interview with Sheila Gregoire and Rebecca Lindenbach where he continued to prioritize the perspective of men. But this time, his line of reasoning parroted […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on April 5, 2023. This is the week when church members eagerly invite family, friends and neighbors who rarely, if ever, attend church to attend Easter services. What may seem like an invitation to hope could be perceived as something else, though. Many non-churchgoers carry wounds that may […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on April 3, 2023. After consolidating his power over the Bob Jones University board of trustees last week, Chairman John Lewis won his face-off against university president Steve Pettit. Pettit, who has served as president of the ultra-conservative school since 2014, had given the board an ultimatum before […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on March 22, 2023. While complementarians sacralize the subjugation of women, perhaps the strongest obstacles to change are the priorities of egalitarians. We’ve witnessed the muscle of complementarian men weaponizing the Bible and wielding the gospel to fortify their authority and power in the church and at home. […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on March 14, 2023. Nashville pastor Greg Locke gained national notoriety for his rebellion against COVID precautions, his denial of the pandemic itself and his enthusiastic support for Donald Trump. Now he’s found new life as a demon slayer. “It was never about the controversy. It was never […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on March 6, 2023. In the wake of The Gospel Coalition publishing a male-centric sexual fantasy about Christ penetrating the church, we are getting a clearer picture of how their alliance is characterized by carelessness and control in an attempt to build author platforms by cultivating and protecting […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on February 21, 2023. Poll after poll and webinar after webinar lays out the data on white Christian nationalism. The facts of this threat to both democracy and faith are well-documented. What’s missing from nearly every public discussion is the toxic theology that fuels white Christian nationalism. Behind the […]
This past year, I connected with the American Academy of Religion to write academic reviews of books about religion. For my first review, I discuss Sex, Tech, and Faith: Sexual Ethics for a Digital Age by Kate Ott. You can read my entire review of her book here.
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on February 21, 2023. Surprise! It’s a revival! So said Thomas H. McCall, a theology professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, located adjacent to the ongoing spiritual event at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky. “Sometimes God does what Johnathan Edwards called ‘surprising work’ and what John Wesley referred to […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on February 14, 2023. As much as conservative evangelicals love to hate Hollywood, sometimes Hollywood plays the role of the prophet, exposing the brutal power dynamics of complementarianism’s “male headship.” Such is the case with Brett McCracken, senior editor and director of communications at The Gospel Coalition. His article about […]
This piece was paid for by BioLogos Integrate. However, the opinions expressed within are my own and include my thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum. At the heart of Christian theology is the story of a God who meets humanity where we are at by entering into our world, wearing our skin, […]
Last year, I covered the Conference On Religious Trauma in an article for Baptist News Global. While I figured they would probably be a bit unsure of how somebody writing for a Baptist news organization would cover their conference, I was very appreciative of the access they allowed me to have. After the article was […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on January 31, 2023. Little did Pinocchio know as he stood amidst the congregation, playfully mimicking the crucifix with outstretched arms and joined feet, that he would soon be hung on a cross as well. In Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, now streaming on Netflix, del Toro has much to […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on January 24, 2023. Imagine facing a medical condition and choosing to do nothing because of money. That was the case for 38% of Americans in 2022, up 12 percentage points from the previous year. According to Gallup, 27% of Americans reported the medical issues they were putting off […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on January 18, 2023. Every disconnection from communal wholeness goes back to a disconnection within the self, which is fundamentally experienced in bodies. So the way Christians talk about Jesus being born as a human body has the potential to shape either wholeness or disconnection from self and […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on January 10, 2023. As the U.S. Capitol building was under siege January 6, four of the six protest permits issued that day were to independent charismatic Christian groups that had spent the previous two months waging a spiritual war focused on overturning the election. Eight days prior […]
This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on December 4, 2023. Actor Kirk Cameron of “Left Behind” fame is cashing in on evangelical fears of LGBTQ people as he wages a war with “woke libraries” in a publicity stunt for his new children’s book. “It’s terrifying to me,” Cameron said regarding children’s books that depict […]
As 2022 draws to a close, I wanted to reflect back on what I’ve learned this year as a religion writer. The vast majority of my articles are published by Baptist News Global, which is a reader-supported, independent news organization that covers “the people, events and ideas that are shaping American religion and culture.” They […]
This article originally appeared on December 30, 2022 at Baptist News Global. At the turning of the year, religion writers and pundits reflect on the stories and conversations that shaped us and look forward to the conversations ahead. So far, Baptist News Global has shared a piece about how content creators shaped these conversations across a variety of platforms, as […]
This article originally appeared on December 20, 2022 at Baptist News Global. Amy Grant is hosting her niece’s same-sex wedding on her farm, and Franklin Graham wants everyone to know he disapproves. Of course, this should come as no surprise to Graham. In a 2013 interview with the LGBTQ news outlet PrideSource, Grant said she knew by the […]
This article originally appeared on December 16, 2022 at Baptist News Global. In a world where peer-reviewed evolutionists are taken seriously and LGBTQ people are treated as peers, Bob Jones University and Sermon Audio have come up with a conservative evangelical counter-offensive known as The Vault. The two organizations have joined forces to build a doomsday vault […]