We live in a world of extremes. Oftentimes, when people feel religiously threatened or afraid, they tend to take comfort in dogma because it provides security. This is not just true of those who lean more conservative, but it also affects liberals as well. And when people become comfortable with their dogma, it can turn into fundamentalism. In contrast to what most people think, fundamentalism is not just a trap that conservatives can fall into, but liberals as well. Intolerance... Read more
In the Kingdom of Man, I argued that one of the most significant factors contributing to the turn towards white Christian Nationalism within conservative Evangelicalism is its foundation in Christian Idealism. Essentially, theologians became swept up in the philosophical idealism that was inherited from Hegel and other idealists. When applied to theology, it attempted to construct a belief system that imagined God as one who could never escape the dialectic of human perception. Ultimately, this presented Christianity in terms of... Read more
To be a Christian, You Must First Deny It Around the mid-19th Century in Denmark, it was well-known that Soren Kierkegaard was not a “Christian” – he had made that almost annoyingly clear. This, despite the fact that he was also well known for his writings on Christianity. Kierkegaard remained steadfast in this assertion until he died in 1855. Needless to say, this frustrated the academic elite and church leaders of his generation because while he was denying being a... Read more
It was only a matter of time before we were going to see conservative ideologies collide. In fact, I am surprised that something like this has not happened already. If you have spent any time in conservative circles, you are well aware at how quickly divisions can form. Dispensationalists against Calvinists; Lutherans against Catholics; and everyone against Pentecostals. This was something that Donald Trump was apparently unaware of when he appointed Paula White-Cain to head up the faith department. Not... Read more
On November 6th, I received a message from a friend who was distraught over the election results from the previous night. Her concerns were not the typical feelings that accompany someone whose candidate lost. Instead, there was an unexpected deepness to her sadness – a hopelessness. I hesitated at the melodrama but there were others. Across my social media feeds were countless people demonstrating the same type of despair as my friend. I had been telling many of these people... Read more
I hate writing about politics. However, the upcoming Presidential election is one of the most important of our generation. The election is not only an important cultural event but could also serve as an important turning point for evangelicals. Evangelicals will have yet another opportunity to right the wrong of the previous two elections. But the question remains, will they? I consider myself an Independent. In the past, I have voted for both parties. And, for the most part, I... Read more
I don’t know if other philosophers lay up at night thinking deeply about mundane things but such has been my plight since I was a boy. This was, in part, why I decided to study philosophy in Graduate school. Many who study philosophy do so because they desire answers to life’s biggest questions. But for me, it was always about how to ask the right questions. It was in learning to ask those questions that got me to understand... Read more
What does it mean for someone to call themselves a Christian? Like many, years of deconstruction has made me weary of not just the Church but Christianity. To call oneself a Christian comes with so much negativity these days that confessing the name of Christ usually requires further clarification. It requires me to differentiate myself from the crazies. I’m not opposed to suffering in the name of Jesus but only for the right reasons. Those reasons do not include paying... Read more
I was wrong. In fact, I wasn’t even close on this one—an intellectual anomaly for sure. I believed Christian nationalism would begin to die down by now. I thought, after January 6th we would see a steady decline in evangelical participation. I failed to take into consideration the audaciousness of evangelicals as demonstrated by their history of doubling down on cultural issues like these. Evangelicalism is built upon the irrational. It is built upon such extravagant metaphysical ideas that it... Read more
The recent annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) held in Indiana let the cat out of the bag regarding the subversiveness they have gone to subjugate their sisters in Christ. One of the big topics on the agenda was a referendum on women serving as pastors. The referendum was the result of initiatives brought up last year which saw the SBC disfellowship several churches for employing women as pastors. This included Rick Warren’s former megachurch. Despite an impassioned... Read more
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