If you’re convinced the Bible affirms women preaching and leading, what do you do when your church disagrees? Read more
If you’re convinced the Bible affirms women preaching and leading, what do you do when your church disagrees? Read more
Check out Freya India’s “The Need for Adults” if you want to read a powerful critique of modern parenting and much of the West’s adult culture. Her central argument is that modern adults have largely abandoned their roles as moral authorities. This claim raises fundamental questions about responsibility, identity, and cultural values. Accordingly, this post takes a close look at key parts of India’s argument. In the process, I’ll explore themes of honor, shame, and the moral vacuum that sucks... Read more
A troubling trend is to reduce the West to a collection of its worst sins. This same dynamic is playing out with the Western church. Read more
In Western culture today, shame has become a potent tool, often used in ways that deeply impact how people see themselves, behave, and relate to others. While shame can certainly play a constructive role by encouraging accountability or reinforcing social ties, its weaponization often has the opposite effect, damaging personal growth, relationships, and public discourse. Social Media, Cancel Culture, and Online Shaming Today, we see this weaponization of shame in all kinds of settings. A few obvious ones include social... Read more
What is a Pride Economy? In Stolen Pride, Arlie Hochschild shares how powerful dynamics of honor and shame shape America’s social and political fabric. She does so by describing what she dubs a “pride economy”? What is that? Well, I’m glad you asked. The Economics of Pride A “pride economy” refers to a social and economic system where pride functions as a form of currency, often in place of adequate financial compensation or social status. Workers find meaning in their... Read more
Michael Morris’s Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together offers penetrating insights into the forces that shape human communities. His book resonates well in today’s society, revealing how our underlying instincts can both fracture and unite us. What about the church though? By examining these instincts—reframed here as prevalence, prestige, and precedence—we see that Morris is fundamentally exploring honor-shame dynamics. (See my first post for an overview of the book.) These concepts provide a... Read more
In Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together, Michael Morris takes us on a fascinating journey into the heart of what divides and unites humanity. At its core, Tribal is about the instincts that shape human behavior and how they can be both the sources of deep divisions and the keys to forming cohesive, thriving societies. This post looks at Morris’s argument, incorporating simplified language for clarity through alliteration—specifically by referring to the three... Read more
Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Second Discourse on the Origins of Human Inequality offers a critical examination of the human condition, tracing the roots of inequality back to the earliest stages of social development. (See my previous post for a critique of his individualism.) As flawed as his work is, Rousseau rightly observes that competition and the lust for respect are foundational elements that generate inequality and lead to varied social ills. This post explores how Rousseau’s critique of competition and the drive for... Read more
Jean-Jacques Rousseau is often celebrated as a champion of liberty, individualism, and natural human goodness. In his Second Discourse on the Origins of Human Inequality, Rousseau tries to expose the dangers of social inequality by tracing the root of human misery to the onset of civilization. While I find his writing abysmally naive and self-contradictory, he does give voice to some of the worst inclinations in the modern West. His famous claim, “Man is weak when he is dependent and... Read more
In recent years, “wokeness” has become a cultural phenomenon that is difficult to define precisely, yet its influence is pervasive. It’s often associated with social justice movements. At its core, however, wokeness is a worldview shaped by profound skepticism toward grand narratives— those overarching stories that give meaning and coherence to history, culture, and identity. Ironically, even as wokeness rejects grand narratives, it simultaneously creates its own framework based on identity and tribal membership, essentializing people according to their marginalized... Read more
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