In a recent New York Times piece by Elizabeth Dias, President and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse Franklin Graham is quoted as defining "progressive" as "just another word for godless." This language might strike some readers as mere hyperbole, or as a polemical swipe at political opponents meant perhaps to be … Continue reading Authoritarian Christianity, or, what Franklin Graham Really Means when he Equates Progressivism with Godlessness
#WhitenessToldMe and #BeingExvangelical: Highlights from Ex-Evangelical Twitter
Over the last week, I've been traveling with my parents around Florida, including heading down to the Fort Myers area to spend time with some relatives there and celebrate the high school graduation of one of my youngest cousins. For that reason, I haven't been too active online, and it's only today that I … Continue reading #WhitenessToldMe and #BeingExvangelical: Highlights from Ex-Evangelical Twitter
Update and Exvangelical Miscellany: Academia, Exvies, the Evangelical Reckoning, the Columbia International University Scandal, and Jerusalem
T.S. Eliot surely did not have academia in mind when he wrote "April is the cruelest month," but his assertion does apply well enough to academia. It's a "wasteland" for the vast majority of Ph.D.s minted in the last 10 years or so, after all, and, for those of us holding on to academic employment, … Continue reading Update and Exvangelical Miscellany: Academia, Exvies, the Evangelical Reckoning, the Columbia International University Scandal, and Jerusalem
#HowToEvangelical is the Latest Ex-Evangelical Hashtag Craze
If you haven't yet taken notice of the new hashtag #HowToEvangelical on Twitter, head over there and have a look at how it's making waves. I hashtagged the phrase after Twitter user @petuniasfalling used it in a tweet that I found both poignant and funny. Before the day was out, the hashtag had trended steadily and … Continue reading #HowToEvangelical is the Latest Ex-Evangelical Hashtag Craze
The Fundamentally Free Blog Launches an #EmptyThePews Series
Coming on the scene only in January of this year, Fundamentally Free is a new ex-Evangelical blog that has already published a good deal of valuable and impressive content by a diverse array of authors. On March 20, 2018, Fundamentally Free's Twitter account put out a call for #EmptyThePews stories--stories of why and how individuals left … Continue reading The Fundamentally Free Blog Launches an #EmptyThePews Series
The Last Temptation of American Journalism, or, Michael Gerson is Not a Hero
If there's one temptation America's major newspapers and magazines seem unable to resist, it's the temptation to normalize America's white Christian extremists--including traditionalist Catholics, yes, but especially Evangelicals. On the whole, this 81% Trump-voting population represents a clear and present danger to American democracy and the future of human rights, but time and again The … Continue reading The Last Temptation of American Journalism, or, Michael Gerson is Not a Hero
Let’s Make the Most of the #MercerCulpa
Thanks to a deluge of important commentary about the fate of DACA and Dreamers amid the failure of an immigration deal, news about the horrific Parkland, FL school shooting, and news about special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and Trump team collusion, Rebekah Mercer's godawful gaslighting op-ed has not generated as much … Continue reading Let’s Make the Most of the #MercerCulpa
Forget the Media Caricature. Allow Me to Caricature Myself
Disclaimer: The following op-ed was penned by guest blogger B. Mercenarius III (well, by his ghost writer, and in accordance with the conclusions of several focus groups regarding the talking points likely to be most effective in eliciting the sympathy of his fellow Americans). Any resemblance to Rebekah Mercer's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal … Continue reading Forget the Media Caricature. Allow Me to Caricature Myself
Why I am Not an Atheist
Reasonabler than Thou? *September 27, 2019 update: I've become more comfortable with being described as an atheist, but the social criticism of the atheist community laid out below stands.* On a formal intellectual level, there are a number of reasons I refuse to embrace atheism. While I don't believe in a micromanaging deity, I find … Continue reading Why I am Not an Atheist
Chrissy Stroop 