Culture
What’s going on, who we are, and what the big deal is.
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The one acceptable hypocrisy
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5 min read
The biggest problem we’re facing in the 21st Century involves the limits of inclusion. It is at the heart of the so-called culture war, the immigration debate, and post-9/11 foreign policy. We are seeing it now in matters of race: in policing and in flags: and in matters of guns and safety. And we are (quite remarkably)…
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Why the lion?
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3 min read
The reason we can condemn an asshole who goes halfway around the world to kill a lion is because it’s a safe thing to condemn. It is safe to say animal cruelty is bad. It is safe to say what he did doesn’t really count as hunting. It is safe to say rich people can get…
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The Sleeping Giant of Progressive Christianity
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5 min read
Is this the end? Phyllis Tickle has long argued that the fight over human sexuality and marriage is the last battle of the culture war. It is the last plank of the cultural conservative political platform; and the plank is crumbling. That is why the fight has been so brutal. She argues that conservative Christians…
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5 Things I loved about Wild Goose
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3 min read
We finally made it to Wild Goose. After the last four years saying “I really wish we could go,” which became “let’s give it a try,” which became “we’ll go next year.” It finally became “we’re going!” We just got back from the Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina this weekend. Rose and I…
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Simple, bold, NOW!
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6 min read
Several years ago, I made a nearly nightly trip to Barnes & Noble to read and write. I had discovered Seth Godin’s books Tribes and The Dip and I was starting another: Lynchpin. This was the book I was looking for. In a very literal and figurative way. It was the book. The book I…
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Is the church’s message really “we don’t love you”?
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5 min read
For us, the ultimate example of marriage is found in Romeo and Juliet, not Genesis. It comes from true, burning desire to not only have sex with a person, but to be with a person, commit to that person, sit alongside that person every single day. To partner and respect and give and share and live a life…