The crisis of American Christianity: Christian Idolatry, Part III

This is the third post in a series on the connected crises of American society, culture, and Christianity – please read the first post here and second here if you haven’t already. The American Christian crisis is connected with both culture and politics, and what I mean when using the word “politics” is: the way […]

The sin of self-deception: Christian Idolatry, Part II

Before tackling the three crises in America I talked about in my last post here, there is a little-recognized sin we need to discuss. Whenever Christians debate about what sin is the one from which all other human problems emerge, pride is usually named. And that’s probably true – the root of the Fall as […]

The three American crises of Christianity, culture, and government: Christian Idolatry, Part I

I have been struggling to write anything for the last several months. The thoughts in my head I’ve wanted to share have been noisily rattling around, but I’ve been wrestling with despair and concern that whatever I write is going to be misunderstood. We are living in a wild and dangerous time in America for […]

Seeking authentic church

I’ve mentioned several times over the years how I’ve struggled with (and have now reached a point where I’m pretty tired of) “doing” church like most Americans do. What I mean by that is I have a hard time with how most American worship services are structured and how the different aspects function. As I […]

The wrong Jesus: A Christmas Meditation

He’s almost certainly not exactly who you think he is, and to know him, you have to be open to change.

Competing Christian visions of America

I have been writing in this blog space for over seven years, and a very small number of people have faithfully and lovingly followed much of what I’ve said over that time. I write for many reasons, but primarily it’s one of the few ways you can really get to know someone short of having […]

Jesus of Nazareth as a guy

I had a crisis of faith in my mid-20s. My background was Christian, and my trouble centered on whether there was any point in me continuing with the faith. I wanted a deeper connection to God than what is stereotypically understood to be on offer in most American churches. It seems to me Jesus is […]