Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Culture

What’s going on, who we are, and what the big deal is.

  • Last week, as the country was staring down the sequester deadline, the president made a reference to not being able to “Jedi Mind Meld” with his opponents. The interwebs went crazy, with people jumping over themselves to criticize the president for such an obvious slip up. This means a whole lot of people missed two…

  • Of course, this image demonstrates that people don’t really want to cut anything from the federal budget. Except one thing. You know, the one most Christian thing on this list. That, they want to get rid of.

  • There is much more to this story. There is the young man’s departure and his humble hopes for mercy, rather than reconciliation. There is the elder brother and his distrust, anger, and departure. It is a story much more robust than this one moment. This story is also the third of three stories of the…

  • For many of us, the notion of inequality is intolerable. A system that perpetuates poverty is an affront to our faith and belief about what we are called to do in this world. Of course not everybody has the same conviction. As this video highlights, however, virtually everybody believes the system is inappropriately rigged and…

  • A real push notification on my phone right now: As the Easter season begins, start a Reading Plan today Two gut responses: The “Bible” app, YouVersion doesn’t actually know that Lent begins today, not Easter? Who doesn’t get that Lent isn’t Easter? The Advent/Christmas problem is invading Lent! The world mischaracterizes Advent as the Christmas…

  • Last fall, The Walking Dead had its inevitable torture episode. It wasn’t surprising from a show that is so gleefully violent and revels in the dark recesses of the human psyche. As the story arc progressed, it became only a matter of time before one human would torture another. There was always something truly inevitable…