Our Favorite Features of 2012

Our writers voted for their favorite Feature articles over the last year. And no, they weren’t allowed to vote for themselves.

Sure, we could run some kind of calculation and come up with what the most popular posts of 2012 were. But for a site like ours, that’s just kind of depressing. People love to read short, pithy posts about things that won’t matter tomorrow. It’s human nature. I do it too.

But that’s not what our features are about. Over the last few years, we’ve been working hard to create regular features that are both timeless and relevant – that speak to an issue with a unique sense of nuance and fairness. We want features that make any issue relevant to all of our readers. We want features that set themselves apart from other takes on similar issues. We worked hard to do that, because we believe that it’s just as important to guide and inform our readership as it is to cater to them.

Thanks to a hard-working team of editors (who work for free) and a collection of writers who value good writing and hard work, we’ve been able to offer you some truly great articles. Maybe you missed them – I understand. After all, they can be kind of long, and some of the subject matters may not scream out to you. But I can say without any hesitation that each and every one of these ten features, voted on and ranked by the CaPC writing team, is well worth your time. You’ll be a better, smarter person for having read any of them.

So please, bookmark this page. Come back to it as you have time. Don’t read based on interest – just work your way down the list. You won’t be sorry.

 #1. The Lost Women and Children of the Abortion Debate: A Pro-life Response to Walsh, Akin, and Mourdock by Erin Newcomb
A staunchly pro-life critique of the recent flippancy of abortion rhetoric by pro-life candidates Joe Walsh, Todd Akin, and Richard Mourdock. 

#2. The Ghosts of Christmas Past by Richard Clark
Richard Clark meditates on a recent loss, Christmas miracles, and the real meaning of the season. 

#3. The Separation of Church and Patriotism by Brad Williams
“Honoring your country does not mean offering it a pinch of incense on the altar.”

#4. The Naked Racism of an Obama America by Alan Noble
America is more racially divided today than when Obama took office. In this feature, Alan Noble explores the causes of this division and why it may be a good thing.

#5. As Biblical as Apple Pie: Rachel Held Evans’s A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Carissa Smith
Carissa Smith read Rachel Held Evans’s new book, and found it heavy on the stunts and light on thoughtful wrestling with Scripture.  

#6. The Ghosts of Thanksgiving by Brad Williams
“To remember the things that death and sin have stolen from us, this is the only way, I think, to be grateful for that which remains.”

#7. Labor of Love: Death of a Salesman & The Problem With Success by Karen Swallow Prior
Guest writer, Karen Swallow Prior explains how laboring toward the American Dream can turn into a nightmare. 

#8. Uncovering Contraception by Erin Newcomb
Recent health care legislation has recently brought Christian objections to birth control to the fore. How should we respond?

#9. Becoming a Slave Again to Edifying Habits by Alan Noble
Evangelicals are beginning to care less about discerning good cultural objects and care more about discerning good cultural practices. But is this trend, despite its signaling a cultural maturation, still susceptible to legalism?

#10. Football without a Prayer: Why Pre-Football Piety is a Bad Idea by Drew Dixon
How should Christians respond to attacks on pre-game prayers by groups like the Freedom from Religion Foundation? Drew Dixon argues that if we pause to consider the matter biblically, we might side with the atheists.