Category: Family
desire like dynamite
This op-ed from the New York Times about raising a child in a world facing environmental crisis is moving, even if you disagree with its premises: Living ethically means understanding that our actions have consequences, taking responsibility for how those...
poverty of imagination
I mentioned my Comment review of Jamil Jivani’s debut book Why Young Men? before, and he’s done a follow-up interview with the associated Convivium: One of the things I explore in the book – which is a pretty defining part of...
“Let Me Stand”
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...
the enduring absurdity of race
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....
loneliness, refugees, and the spaces we live in
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...
philia and eros: sloppy wet kissing cousins
Steven Wedgeworth has a post up at the main site critically examining Spiritual Friendship (and by extension, the Revoice Conference). It’s probably the best critical engagement I’ve yet read with these ideas so far, but it still misses the mark...
my review of Jamil Jivani’s “Why Young Men?”
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...
seeking asylum across a border is not illegal
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 —...
“What would it be like to surrender?”
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...
when the plant closes
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...