Category: Social Trends
Friendship, Opposition, and Chick-Fil-A
I’ve had just about enough Chick-Fil-A over the past week to last more than a lifetime, and I didn’t even visit the restaurant today (more on that in a minute). I’ve been reading and digesting, trying to nail down precisely...
Sexual Politics and our Soft Despotism
Ross Douthat followed up his weekly column that hit on Chick-Fil-A with a few more thoughts that are worth reading: The cause of gay marriage has indeed advanced because many millions of people have been persuaded of its merits: No...
Candor, the Religious Liberty Fight, and Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat: Like a belief that the gods want human sacrifice, [Western monotheism’s ideas about human sexuality] are permissible if held in private. But they cannot be exercised in ways that might deny, say, employer-provided sterilizations to people who really...
The New Puritanism: Chick-fil-A and Boycotts
I had planned to avoid the Chick-Fil-A brouhaha for the reason Sarah Pulliam Bailey lists here: seriously, people, this is news? In case you’ve missed it, Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sundays. They’re not exactly the most liberal group and have...
When Your Social Media Feeds Get You Down
You know those days when your Facebook and Twitter feeds are just so painfully, overwhelmingly negative? When every other post is a political rant, declarative missive about one’s consumer habits (“farewell, Chick Fil A”!), or esoteric theological brawl about terms...
Superficially Innoccuous Practices and Why We should Care about Tattoos
My piece at Relevant on tattoos (yes, another) came out last week and commenters, well, let’s just say they didn’t quite get it. The general sentiment was something along the lines of “Who cares?,” a response I would rebuke if...
Made in the USA
A few weeks ago I watched this testimony given by Mike Rowe in front of the Senate. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. If you haven’t already seen it, watch now. It’s only 6 minutes long and well worth...
And Everyone Knew But Me…
Time to fulfill a New Year’s resolution… from last year: write more for Mere-O… I’ve rediscovered a lot of important Christian truths in the tenish years of my adult life. I’ll admit to not always being a paragon of humility...
New York Times: Red-State Evangelical Fundamentalism
Karl Giberson and Randall Stephens have penned an excoriating editorial in the New York Times on Red-State evangelical fundamentalism. This is no surprise as Giberson, in particular, and Stephens, authors of The Anointed: Evangelical Truth in a Secular Age, have reigned...
Required Reading: Hauerwas’ ‘Resident Aliens.’
Pick up any popular-level article on college-age church attendance or attend any church growth webinar, and you’ll almost assuredly find some hip, church growth expert bemoaning the “church’s” failure to retain its young adults. With latte in hand, we’ll be...