Is This the Beginning of the NFL’s End?

Last updated on: March 17, 2015 at 10:04 am By Samuel James

Chris Borland, a second year linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, is retiring after his successful rookie season. He tells ESPN that the money, fame, and fun of pro football “isn’t worth the risk” of long-term head injury: Borland becomes the most prominent NFL player to leave the game in his prime because of concerns about brain injuries. More than 70 former players have been diagnosed with progressive neurological disease after their deaths, and numerous studies have shown connections between... Read more

Christians and College Debt

Last updated on: March 15, 2015 at 10:29 pm By Samuel James

I’ve found myself thinking about one particular classmate from my undergraduate years. We entered around the same time. He was able to graduate much sooner than I, though, mostly because his Sallie Mae loan covered enough of his college bill so that he could take a full load or more every semester without working many hours (if he worked at all). Unfortunately, my friend made an alarming discovery upon graduation: His bachelor’s degree, though fully accredited and indicative of a... Read more

Why I’m Joining the ERLC

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 9:02 am By Samuel James

I am thrilled, grateful, and excited to announce that as of yesterday I have accepted a position with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. I’ll be working as a Communications Specialist, helping the ERLC in its mission to produce Gospel-faithful, culture-relevant and church-empowering content. Excitement is really too small a word. This move represents a thousand different blessings coming through many people. I won’t get very personal, except to say that this opportunity could not... Read more

Why the Caged Birdman Sings

Last updated on: March 10, 2015 at 12:37 pm By Samuel James

Henry David Thoreau once said, “The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.” He was thinking about men like Riggan Thomson, the protagonist of Birdman: Or, the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture just a few weeks ago. I finally watched it. It’s a very funny film, particularly if the viewer knows a thing or two about actor culture or the current dilapidated state of Hollywood. More than satire, though, Birdman is a... Read more

In Addiction, But Not Of It

Last updated on: March 6, 2015 at 11:34 am By Samuel James

Los Angeles Angels slugger Josh Hamilton is in the news again after the former American League MVP confessed to Major League Baseball of another drug relapse. Hamilton’s struggle with drug and alcohol addiction is well-documented. In 2007 ESPN Magazine published a powerful piece by Hamilton in which he attributed recent sobriety to faith in Christ. However, since then Hamilton has publicly relapsed at least three times. Hamilton continues to speak openly of his Christian life, telling the press after a... Read more

4 Responses a Non-Scientist Christian Can Give to Science-Based Atheism

Last updated on: March 2, 2015 at 9:42 am By Samuel James

Lack of scientific knowledge can leave Christians feeling vulnerable when talking to unbelieving friends about why faith is superior to skepticism. Many college students discover atheism through science classes; students who enter university as Christians have their faith fiercely tested by their studies, and too many give up the fight merely because they assume that a biology professor must be correct about whether God exists. When a little bit of childlike faith meets a lot of studied atheism, fear can... Read more

The Ugly Legalism of Sports Worship

Last updated on: February 27, 2015 at 12:43 pm By Samuel James

Do I worship sports? I hope not. I don’t think I do, but I’ll admit that my fiancé might have a more informed take on the question. I have been guilty of scheduling certain days around games and have been distracted by the restaurant’s ESPN-locked TV when I really shouldn’t have been. (I’m sorry, baby, what did you say we need to discuss?) And I suppose I’ve spent a best-not-to-mention amount of money on tickets, “Game Rewind” subscriptions, t-shirts and... Read more

How the Oscars and Elitism Help America

Last updated on: February 25, 2015 at 2:21 pm By Samuel James

Mathematically speaking, the odds are that if you A) purchased a ticket to a movie in 2014 and B) watched Sunday night’s Oscar telecast, you C) didn’t see your favorite movie from last year win…well, anything. The New York Times reports this morning on the startlingly large discontinuity between the films honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and those honored with the almighty dollar by the American public. Whereas nominee American Sniper has earned over $300... Read more

Scott Walker Doesn’t Know if Obama Is a Christian (And Neither Do I)

Last updated on: February 23, 2015 at 2:50 pm By Samuel James

Governor and Republican Presidential hopeful Scott Walker says he doesn’t know if President Obama is a Christian. I, for one, believe him. Why is it so hard for some to accept his answer? The President says he is a Christian. This is, as Ross Douthat points out, an indisputable fact of public record. There’s no need to assume the governor was unaware of this when asked the question (he came close to implying as much, though, stretching credulity). By the... Read more

How Addiction Votes

Last updated on: February 20, 2015 at 2:17 pm By Samuel James

Carl Trueman has written several fine pieces lately on both the nature of and antidote to our cultural pornography addiction. His latest concerns the power of porn to reshape subconscious patterns of thought and, by extension, alter deeply held moral attitudes and actions. Understanding Trueman’s point requires putting together two emerging facts about American sexual morality. First, many Americans are increasingly skeptical of any sexual moral norm except for one: consent. Violation of consent (indeed, even the possibility of its violation) remains the... Read more