Dear Readers, I’ve been asked by several readers whom I respect to ban Darius from commenting on this site. These are not persons who want him banned because they disagree with him, but because he hijacks every comment string to his own purposes. Whether you think he’s a bully or not, his participation does not allow for other strings to develop. We all know where he stands, and his opinion seems to lack nuance or room for development. The people... Read more
An interesting take on evangelical nostalgia for a past that never was, especially important during an era in which Glenn Beck and the Teabaggers are constantly invoking this glorious version of America that never existed. So what do Peter Marshall and Star Wars have in common? A lot. Most importantly, they show us that Americans are still searching for and finding faiths that affirm who they imagine themselves to be as a people rather than religions that challenge them to... Read more
In these days, newspapermen and women need some cheerful stories, so it was a joy to read about a wildly successful marketing coup pulled off by the Minneapolis StarTribune (of which my grandfather was the managing editor during my childhood). I’m sure that everyone else in America thought it the cheesiest thing in America when the Metrodome was filled with 65,000 fans waving handkerchiefs (and, not coincidentally, making more noise than a jetliner at takeoff) in 1987 and subsequent playoff... Read more
Today, Doug and I announce that the social media arm of JoPa Productions is Social Phonics. We’d love for you to follow us on Facebook, and register for our upcoming social media boot camps in Pasadena, Boston, Sioux Falls, Dallas, and Minneapolis. Read more
Last week I blogged about a gay teenager in Minnesota who committed suicide in July. Sadly, he is not alone in teenagers who are figuring out their sexuality, lose all hope at being understood, and kill themselves. Now Dan Savage, the sex advice columnist that Christians won’t admit to reading, has started a project called “It Gets Better,” in which he is soliciting videos from GLBT persons who have survived the gauntlet of middle school and high school. Here’s an... Read more
Um, yes, this is possibly too good to be true: David Bazan covers Radiohead for Hit It Or Quit It from WBEZ on Vimeo. Read more
I’m currently working on chapter four of my dissertation, in which I will use Jürgen Moltmann’s ecclesiology in support and critique of the burgeoning and relatively underdeveloped theology in the emerging church movement. Moltmann has actually written quite a bit about the church, but it’s an underappreciated aspect of his work, and not much has been written about it. Moltmann experts say this is because his ecclesiological writings are too pragmatic, for one thing. Unlike many of his German theological... Read more
Prior to this spring, I had not owned a bike since junior high. Growing up in the suburbs, I didn’t think I needed one after my friends and I started getting our drivers’ licenses. When I got to college, I considered getting one, but everyone I knew had their bikes stolen, repeatedly, on campus, so I decided it wasn’t a smart investment. After that, I went to seminary and, like everyone else in SoCal, I drove everywhere. And back in... Read more
I’m not much of a reactionary. In fact, when it comes to public schooling, I tend to take a live-and-let-live posture. I want my own kids to ride the bus and learn how to navigate that rolling-Lord-of-the-Flies environment. Same goes for recess. But when I hear a story like that of Justin Aaberg, recently in the news in the Twin Cities, it reminds me that The Lord of the Flies is, in fact, a cautionary tale. When left to their... Read more
A funny, and telling, thought experiment at Reddit. What if kosher Jews used the same reasoning that anti-gay Christians used? Here’s the post, and click the link below to read the fantastic comments: As a practicing jew, I believe that my fundamental right to freedom of religious expression is being violated. Right now, you can apply for a restaurant license and sell pork and shellfish in an eating establishment. Look, I’m not trying to force my beliefs on anyone. If... Read more
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