I don’t know how many pundits I’ve heard as they attempt to climb inside Putin’s head to find some rationale for his murderous attack on Ukraine, but the number is high. In every case I end up talking back to them, trying to convince them that history, ambition, and personal grievance barely scratch the surface of Putin’s true motivation, which is, in my opinion, much simpler, much more basic than any of the experts surmise. Putin’s motivation has to do... Read more
It was a “Farewell Rob Bell” moment for the neo-Reformed harbingers of orthodoxy. I have always like Matt Chandler, but his recent assertion (in a clipped video posted to TikTok) that those who deconstruct their Christian faith just want to be in on the sexy thing, and that one cannot deconstruct an authentic experience of Christ (so your faith must not be authentic), has only amplified the deconstruction phenomenon. For awhile now, the hawkers have been cranking out books on... Read more
… There’s a big Critical Race Theory kerfuffle happening right now around an op-ed in the Washington Post by Marc A. Thiessen, with an assist from Danielle Pletko (both from the American Enterprise Institute), and from Allen Guelzo (Princeton) whose field is not philosophy, but history. Let me say up front that I don’t use Critical Theory, nor do I think it’s helpful at the end of the day. It’s too easy to use it to justify almost any position.... Read more
“And the moon is a sliver of silver, like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter’s shop; and every house must have it’s builder; and I awoke in the house of God.” – Rich Mullins This has to be one of the near perfect opening lines to a song I’ve ever heard. He was right about the moon, and about the fact that we all just woke up here one day, in the house of God, in... Read more
Regardless of the lens you adopt through which to think about culture, consensus seems to be that the way we’ve organized our society — even our most basic forms of relating and working together — are dysfunctional at best. My take on why this is happening is that most of us operate through conscious and unconscious purity codes. What is a Purity Code? A purity code stems from the generalized assumption that it is possible to identify and eliminate the... Read more
As we approach 20 years since 9/11, my strongest memory is still the emotional horror I felt that day, the gut wrenching sorrow of witnessing more than 3000 deaths in one morning. It was a brutal day. Collectively, there was really nothing we could do, so we just got together to cry and grieve. Today I keep thinking about this one number. The number is 656,000, the number of Americans who have died from Covid-19. I wonder why we don’t... Read more
I love a good conspiracy theory. In college I got really into that 90s conspiracy about the Illuminati, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, and the New World Order (not kidding… I devoured entire books). I never bought into the fake moon landings, or the end times stuff, but you’ll never convince me that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Aliens, big brother, nefarious politicians, big tech colluding with the government, those half-baked theories have brought me hours of enjoyment. The... Read more
Critical Race Theory (CRT)—a theoretical approach to race which focuses on systemic forms of racism and their impact on minority communities—is viewed as a threat by many white Americans. The typical rationale offered by the throngs of newly converted CRT haters—it’s Marxist, it’s the liberal indoctrination of children, it’s revisionist history put forth by Americans who secretly hate America—is not their true objection. In fact, the one thing that all CRT-haters hold in common is this: they need the issue... Read more
Rich Mullins was (and is) my hero. I have often wondered what he would say about our world today. Rich wasn’t held captive to the unholy marriage between Evangelical Christians and the Republican Party, it was the anabaptist influence. I’m certain he would not look favorably on a man like Donald Trump. Lord knows what Rich would say, but I’m sure it would be hilarious. I find myself so grateful that Rich Mullins pulled at the thread that began... Read more
Trump doesn’t use his supporters, they use him for their own enjoyment. They cheer his brutality, cruelty, racism, and hatefulness at every rally. He owns the libs and they can’t stand the libs. In a very real way Trump’s worst flaws are what his followers enjoy most, which is why pointing out his flaws never seems to work. This is also why people like Joe Biden are so hard to elect. He’s basically decent. It’s boring. There’s no enjoyment in... Read more
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