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Matthew LoftusFamilyHealth & Medicine

"Let Me Stand" - Doctors Without Boredom

This is a tremendous essay on one victim of the opioid crisis, as narrated by her brother: Several years ago, I felt convicted to ask Tricia for forgiveness. She was in jail at the time. By appearances, I was a […]

Matthew LoftusFamilyCulture

the enduring absurdity of race - Doctors Without Boredom

This essay by W. Ralph Eubanks is a good introduction to the challenges of race’s enduring power in America: Race is an absurdity, having long ago been discredited as a valid biological category and, in the Brown decision, a defensible legal one. […]

Matthew LoftusFamilyCultureEconomicsarchitecture

loneliness, refugees, and the spaces we live in - Doctors Without Boredom

This essay by D.L. Mayfield in Comment is very relevant to my interests: The suburban neighbourhood where I currently live was not built for community. This was done by design—the suburbs were meant to be bastions of happy isolation, with […]

Matthew LoftusFamilyFeaturedCurrent Politics

Romans 13, Jeff Sessions, and Separating Families at the Border - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

Romans 13 can't be misused to argue that jailing people for a misdemeanor supersedes the good of families remaining together.

Matthew LoftusFamily

philia and eros: sloppy wet kissing cousins - Doctors Without Boredom

Most gay and straight people are going to spend their lives mixing up philia and eros. Better get used to it.

Matthew LoftusFamilyCultureEconomicsCriminal JusticeEducation

my review of Jamil Jivani's "Why Young Men?" - Doctors Without Boredom

I reviewed Jamil Jivani’s new book, Why Young Men?, for Comment magazine. It’s a fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) book that explores the very important question of why young men are radicalized and embrace violence. It is a bit tricky to nail down […]

Matthew LoftusFamily

seeking asylum across a border is not illegal - Doctors Without Boredom

I am not in any remote sense an “evangelical leader”, but I was asked to sign this petition asking our President to end the policy of separating families at the border. Specifically, the policy of separating families who seek asylum — […]

Matthew LoftusFamilyCulture

"What would it be like to surrender?" - Doctors Without Boredom

This story by Jonathan Parks-Ramage about his encounter with an evangelical church in LA is moving and beautiful: Treat presents a ready-made identity, perfect for those who feel lost. In the months leading up to this service, I spoke with […]

Matthew LoftusFamilyCultureEconomics

when the plant closes - Doctors Without Boredom

Alec MacGillis has been doing stellar work about some of America’s neglected places, and this piece about a town in Ohio grappling with the imminent closure of a coal-fired power plant is no different: Lee Anderson, director of governmental affairs […]

Guest WriterFamilyFeatured

How the Irish Lost Themselves and How They May Find Themselves Again

The British Empire spent centuries trying to destroy Irish lives. Last week the Irish chose to do to themselves what the British could not.

Matthew LoftusFamilyCulture

"we don't speak a language, we speak normal!" - Doctors Without Boredom

Our family lived down the road from Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mather when I worked in South Sudan, and we were enormously blessed to be their neighbors and friends. They, like us, have had to relocate and are now doing peacebuilding […]

Matthew LoftusFamily

friendship, families, and the celibate - Doctors Without Boredom

I am a bit biased because Wes Hill is a dear friend, but man! This essay of his in Comment about breaking up with a friend and choosing to build deep, intimate friendships with families is so good: I spent my […]