Harvard, Hoops, Hope, and Hype: America’s Lin-fatuation

Last updated on: February 22, 2012 at 9:24 am By Jerry Park

My Facebook newsfeed is suffering from Linsomnia. Discovering a new celebrity like Jeremy Lin for someone in my line of research interests is enough to throw every other project off the desk and spend long nights keeping track of what is happening to America’s favorite new point guard, and what people are saying. Like a lot of writers who have commented on Lin, I too have not been an avid NBA watcher much less the Knicks (although mentioning them has... Read more

Want to Fight the Man? Reform is Hard Work

Last updated on: February 22, 2012 at 9:25 am By Margarita A. Mooney

In his recent column responding to the You Tube hit video, “Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus,” New York Times Columnist David Brooks sent a clear message to many would-be reformers: if you desire reform, you are better off joining a movement tied to a tradition. Tradition is hardly a word we hear anymore. When it is evoked, it is often used negatively. Many people distrust institutions that symbolize traditions, such as the government and religion. The free market–which can be considered... Read more

If rescue dogs are the only legitimate dogs today, are rescue humans next?

Last updated on: February 22, 2012 at 9:27 am By Mark Regnerus

Apparently we now own a rescue dog, a term I was entirely unfamiliar with a mere 5-10 years ago. The Regnerus family was not, so far as I knew, in the market for a dog, although cute canines calculatingly kenneled in front of PetSmart, Petco, or some other such big box brand never failed to attract my children’s attention on the way to the grocery store. And that is how we eventually wound up with a dog, my first since... Read more

Just How Overweight are Americans?

Last updated on: February 12, 2012 at 10:58 am By Bradley Wright

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, has made it his mission to help his congregation to lose weight using something he’s termed the Daniel Plan. From an article about the plan: “Warren, 58, says that with the plan, “we were trying to get people to eat healthier, fresher and more natural foods. The line we use is: ‘If it grows on a plant, it’s healthy. If it’s made in a plant, don’t eat it.’ My rule is no snacks, no... Read more

Can Sociology and Christianity Mix? Part 4

Last updated on: February 22, 2012 at 9:27 am By Bradley Wright

By George Yancey (Part 4 in a series. Part 1, 2, and 3) If we are holistic beings then all parts of who we are must interact together as we strive to understand our world. I am not just a sociologist. I am not just a Christian. I am not just black. I am all of those things. This is not to say that all of those things are equal in their importance to me but all of them, and... Read more

The End of Expressing Faith in Public Spaces?

Last updated on: February 22, 2012 at 9:28 am By Jerry Park

As a young college student, one of the appeals of participating in an evangelical group was the fairly humble settings that often accompanied the singing and praying and fellowshipping (it’s one of those terms I heard first among evangelicals, and I think it’s another way of saying “socializing.”). For those us that grew up Christian, I think most of us are familiar with the interiors of traditional church structures, some have steeples, stained glass, pews, some are even shaped like... Read more

John Frum and Jesus

Last updated on: February 11, 2012 at 12:57 pm By Bradley Wright

February 15th will be John Frum day, a high holiday in one of the South Pacific’s cargo cults. In this cargo cult, adherents wait for the return of a religious figure named John Frum, an American, who will bring prosperity and wealth to those who follow him. (It appears that his name comes from a service man saying he was “John, from (some state or city).” My first reaction to reading about it was to feel sorry for the adherents… here they... Read more