The Archive

Every essay.

Matthew LoftusCultureEconomics

the inequality keeps growing and growing and growing

I have really been appreciating Alec MacGillis’ careful reporting on the places that have been left behind in our current economy, and this ProPublica report from Dayton, Ohio (that also frequently references Baltimore, another struggling place) is no exception: In […]

Matthew LoftusFamilyCultureEthics

how do we get the people we need?

Localism is a necessary part of moral formation. But a faithful local community is one that will be proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed.

Guest WriterFeaturedEvangelicalism

An Evangelical Response to the Statement on Social Justice & The Gospel

Malcolm Foley and Justin Hawkins address two key theological errors in the statement and explain how both are departures from historic evangelical theology.

Matthew LoftusEducation

the college pipeline is not working for people

This post from the Institute of Family Studies hammers home what I think is a really important point about college: High school graduates enroll in college at higher rates than they used to, but that has not translated to a surge in […]

Matthew LoftusEconomics

men not at work

Senator Mike Lee’s office has been doing fantastic work investigating America’s declining social capital, and this report on men out of the workforce has a lot to chew on: We confirm research by other scholars that a large number of […]

Matthew LoftusCultureEthics

natural law and common grace

I really appreciated this piece from Jordan Ballor and J. Daryl Charles on natural law and common grace. In particular, I liked the fact that they don’t take “natural law” further than it can go — it’s a “recognition of […]

Matthew LoftusCultureHistory

could a Christian political party be... good?

Bryan McGraw delivers a great history lesson about Christian political parties in Europe and the promise such a party might hold for us in America. I’d love to see him discuss the American Solidarity Party in a follow-up, since that’s the […]

Jake MeadorArt

He Saw Our Darkness

This piece on Johnny Cash is fantastic: The tragic, doleful Cash had returned. On his own compositions and covers, he sang of a cold-blooded killer haunted by his deeds, a convict known only by the number tattooed on his neck, […]

Matthew LoftusCulture

"It's not like they ask us."

This story by Elaina Plott about guns and the people who use them is really insightful: That the broader population has transposed the attitudes of people like Bennett onto most gun owners is understandable. Popular discourse is given to extremes. […]

Jake Meador

Consent and Trust

From the NYT: For our first date, he took an Uber to my apartment through a winter storm. As the snow fell outside, we sat close on my couch while he talked touchingly about poetry. Two hours in, I was hoping […]

Matthew LoftusCultureHistory

Africa as antidote

Melani McAlister has an incisive interview with David Swartz in Christianity Today on her new book, The Kingdom of God Has No Borders: A Global History of American Evangelicals: What do you mean when you describe Americans as “enchanted” by […]

Jake Meador

Rosaria Butterfield and Evading the Issues

Jeremy Erickson: Rosaria Butterfield has not to my knowledge spoken recently about whether or not she continues to experience sexual temptation towards other women. People talk about her as a “former lesbian,” and as long as everything is defined in […]