This is part of the 2015 Ideological Turing Test series, where Christians and non-Christians test how well they understand one another. In this second round, non-Christians (mostly atheists) answer the prompts honestly, and Christians try to answer them as they expect atheists to. Your job is to see if you can spot the difference. You can find all posts about the 2015 Ideological Turing Test here. Below are answers to the question: What role does ritual have in your... Read more
This is part of the 2015 Ideological Turing Test series, where Christians and non-Christians test how well they understand one another. In this second round, non-Christians (mostly atheists) answer the prompts honestly, and Christians try to answer them as they expect atheists to. Your job is to see if you can spot the difference. You can find all posts about the 2015 Ideological Turing Test here. Below are answers to the question: Name a book that shaped your moral... Read more
This is part of the 2015 Ideological Turing Test series, where Christians and non-Christians test how well they understand one another. In this first round, Christians answer the prompts honestly, and atheists try to answer them as they expect the Christians to. Your job is to see if you can spot the difference. You can find all posts about the 2015 Ideological Turing Test here. Below are answers to the question: What is an element of your tradition that... Read more
This is part of the 2015 Ideological Turing Test series, where Christians and non-Christians test how well they understand one another. In this first round, Christians answer the prompts honestly, and atheists try to answer them as they expect the Christians to. Your job is to see if you can spot the difference. You can find all posts about the 2015 Ideological Turing Test here. Below are answers to the question: Why, in a world of many splintered sects, should... Read more
This is part of the 2015 Ideological Turing Test series, where Christians and non-Christians test how well they understand one another. In this first round, Christians answer the prompts honestly, and atheists try to answer them as they expect the Christians to. Your job is to see if you can spot the difference. You can find all posts about the 2015 Ideological Turing Test here. Below are answers to the question: What sin (if any) lies at the root of... Read more
A conventional Turing Test checks whether a computer program can convincingly counterfeit human conversation. An Ideological Turing Test checks whether someone can convincingly imitate the beliefs and reasoning of someone they disagree with. It’s a way to see how well you understand the ideas you would like to debunk. This year, I looked through your suggested questions for a Christian/Non-Christian (mostly atheist) Ideological Turing Test, and these are the questions I asked contestants to answer. Questions For Christians: What sin... Read more
While you’re reading this, I will quasi-not exist. (I’m on a plane to New Zealand, and, as a consequence of the International Date Line, I won’t have a Thursday this week). I’m off to speak at the Eucharistic Convention in Auckland and do a Theology on Tap in Sydney. Next week. I’ll be running this year’s Ideological Turing Test (entries appearing MWF), so stay tuned. In the meantime, here’s a rundown of what I’ve been covering for my new job... Read more
In 2015, I’m reading and blogging through Ronald Knox’s collection of sermons on Christian exemplars, Captive Flames: On Selected Saints and Christian Heroes. Every Monday, I’ll be writing about the next portrait in the book, so you’re welcome to peruse them all and/or read along. Reading Ronald Knox’s sermon on St Anselm, I was reminded of my own confirmation saint, Augustine. In Augustine’s time, priests sometimes detoured to avoid cities that had a bishop-vacancy, out of fear that they would be seized and... Read more
Wednesday afternoon, I’m getting on a plane for New Zealand. I’ll be speaking at the Auckland Eucharistic Convention and doing a Theology on Tap in Sydney. It’s a very long series of flights, plus my mom (who’s travelling with me) and I like to walk in parks and pause to read when we travel, so I could use some recommendations for what I take on my kindle. Here’s what I’ve already got that I’m planning to read: Ancillary Sword by Ann... Read more
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve started working this week at FiveThirtyEight. I’m a news writer, so most of my pieces will be shorter, news cycle-driven pieces on data angles in the stories of the day. I like to read “data” a little broadly, so I’m as excited to write about choices of methodology as I am to take a crack at a big dataset myself. My first piece as a staffer went up yesterday, and I’ve got a couple... Read more
Unequally Yoked
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