This year, I took it upon myself to make overdue first acquaintance with the poetry of W. H. Auden. Having had the wind knocked out of me by T. S. Eliot in high school, I anticipated a similar encounter with the at once very weird and very great. I was left disappointed on neither front (though I still find Eliot the greater poet). The epic Christmas prose-poetry oratorio “For the Time Being” stands out as perhaps the chief among Auden’s… Read more
December 15, 2019
Advent in Nigeria
December 15, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
1 Comment
For Christians mindful of the Church year, Advent is to Christmas as Lent is to Easter—a time which, while it need not be dominated by joyless solemnity, should properly have a touch of melancholy about it. As I look through the Advent hymns in my Anglican hymnal, separated from the Christmas hymns, I fear that their distinctive quality is lost in our haste towards Christmas. Chief among these is the hymn “O Very God Of Very God,” whose lyrics never… Read more
November 23, 2019
Yes, You Should Be Angry At Chick-fil-A
November 23, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
33 Comments
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Chick-fil-A is no stranger to outrage and controversy, but this past week it incurred the outrage of an unlikely demographic: conservatives. Many outlets have already covered what transpired after the organization released its latest financial statement. Nevertheless, I must keep up this little corner of the ‘net somehow, so consider this my nickel in the proverbial Salvation Army kettle. For those who missed it, it has apparently come to Chick-fil-A’s attention that the Salvation… Read more
October 15, 2019
Shallow Woke-Scolding Won’t Save White Boys From the Alt-Right
October 15, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
62 Comments
In a recent article, the newspaper formerly known as the New York Times offers an eye-catching headline: “Racists Are Recruiting. Watch Your White Sons.” The image is an inspired piece of pop art: a blond-haired, gangly boy disappearing into a giant iPhone made of writhing snakes. One shoe is still outside the phone, the shoelaces untied. The tag on his shirt sticks out against his neck. It’s a perfect visual encapsulation of vulnerability entrapped by evil. The author, Joanna Schroeder,… Read more
September 20, 2019
Greta Thunberg’s Meaning Crisis
September 20, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
203 Comments
Today marked the beginning of a week-long Global Climate Strike. Per the official website, this international youth-galvanized effort is being orchestrated “to demand an end to the age of fossil fuels and climate justice for everyone.” The reader may be forgiven for wondering whose sin is to be punished by the meting out of said justice, and precisely how much penance is required to satisfy it. As you scroll down, a video thumbnail presents itself with the hope of further… Read more
August 5, 2019
The Boys Are Not All Right
August 5, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
90 Comments
No words will suffice but “good” and “evil.” No language will suffice but the language of war. Read more
July 29, 2019
Book Review: Dignity, Chris Arnade
July 29, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
0 Comments
When I bought and read Chris Arnade’s book Dignity, I was determined to be one of the first in line to say all the good things about it that could be said. But life had other plans, and other people said them first. So I now find myself sheepishly shuffling in late to add my own too-lengthy thoughts. They haven’t been easy to pull together. But then, Dignity is not an easy book to review. My first taste of Arnade’s… Read more
June 15, 2019
6 Lies Christian Apologists Shouldn’t Buy
June 15, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
12 Comments
I’ve occasionally been described by people slightly familiar with my work as an “evangelical apologist.” Depending on who assigns that sort of a label, this could bring any number of assumptions and connotations along with it in the mind of the giver. In my case, a good number of them are probably going to be incorrect. As a cradle Continuing Anglican, I’ve always been on the outside looking in at evangelical church culture, despite my deep appreciation for some of… Read more
May 25, 2019
Jordan Peterson and the Unbearable Task
May 25, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
55 Comments
It’s not every day that a man confesses his sins on Twitter, but I saw it happen the other day. “If we are going to be damned for eternity for all of the terrible things we’ve done, here is my proactive list,” wrote Chad Felix Greene. Then he launched into his litany. Confession #1: Lying to his grandfather about using his credit card for a porn site. Confession #2: Being a sex worker, including sex with multiple married men that… Read more
May 17, 2019
Towards a Balanced View of Christian Womanhood
May 17, 2019 By Esther O’Reilly
36 Comments
Christian social media has been buzzing of late with a fierce renewal of the long-standing debate over the role of women in the Church. It was catalyzed by this blog post from my friend and Patheos colleague Owen Strachan, which strongly censured female preaching in any context. By itself, the assertion that women should not be ordained as pastors isn’t controversial in conservative evangelical circles. But Strachan goes farther. Apropos of the announcement that popular speaker Beth Moore was going… Read more
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