Chick Fil A is known as much for the CEO’s Christian beliefs as its chicken sandwiches. In-n-Out Burger has Bible verses printed on their cups and bags. Nearly every storefront window in my college town displays a pride flag or “Free Palestine” message. At some point, it gets a little exhausting. Do I really need… Continue reading This is the new purity test of our era
Tag: Donald Trump
The answer to “What would you have done?” isn’t that simple
Normal people perhaps don’t grow up thinking what they would have done had they lived in Nazi Germany, but I did. The answer was simple: good people helped hide Jews, or otherwise volunteered their skills to the Resistance. Bad people looked the other way and did nothing, or worse: reported their neighbors who did those… Continue reading The answer to “What would you have done?” isn’t that simple
To rebuild or not to rebuild
I remember going through my Facebook friends list in 2016 and removing everyone I knew who voted for the candidate the media said was a Nazi. Their reasons for their vote didn’t matter: they supported Hitler 2.0, and therefore they were a threat to my very existence. Most people in that cut were acquaintances I… Continue reading To rebuild or not to rebuild
Post-election thoughts from the politically homeless
I’ve had many thoughts since the election results were finalized, but wanted to hold off for a day or so to let them marinate. I have a strict policy for myself not to post anything while dealing with heavy emotions: something I did not practice in 2016, much to my detriment. Back then, I firmly… Continue reading Post-election thoughts from the politically homeless
Idols rather than fishers
I often joke that maybe I shouldn’t have written a memoir of my faith journey, because now everyone knows me by the theology I had circa 2012. While still holding to core doctrines, I’ve changed my mind on other things I wouldn’t want to be known for now. Many Christians I know are speeding toward… Continue reading Idols rather than fishers
When to end a friendship over politics
Would your family have hidden mine from the Nazis? I kid you not, I asked this question of my friends when I was a child. It was the ultimate gauge to see if they were truly good people (thankfully, they all said yes, they would have hidden me, but many of them didn't even know… Continue reading When to end a friendship over politics
Surviving the latest schism
In November 2016, my faith took a hard nose dive. It was going that direction already, after a difficult season at a conservative seminary and acknowledging hard questions I couldn’t find sensible answers to. But if there’s one thing that really threatened to destroy it all, it was seeing a group of people, supposedly united… Continue reading Surviving the latest schism