A Progressive Christian's Blog About Faith, Culture, and Big Ideas
Fundamentalism wasn't pressed upon me as a child. No, I chose it for myself. While I did grow up in a Christian household, my dogmatic approach to faith was more a result of a well-intentioned - but misguided - attempt to be recognized as the smartest person in the room. I also loved to read.…
Continue reading ➞ A Love Letter (and Warning) to Progressive Christianity
Another day, another reason to be outraged. No matter your position on the political spectrum, you're more than likely mad at somebody. Being angry, frustrated, or stressed out are our country's new favorite pastimes. Nothing brings people closer together quite like a shared enemy. But what if we're wrong? What if the problem isn't top-down,…
Only two out of ten millennials believe Church attendance is important or worthwhile. According to a Barna research study, the top three reasons people chose to no longer attend church are: They find God elsewhere (39%) It's not relevant to my life (35%) It's boring (31%) We are a generation born into of world of…
We need to start listening. Too often, we dismiss those leaving the Church as outliers, or unfaithful prodigals. We rarely take the time to listen to their grievances, or if we do we simply chalk up their exodus to moral failure, lackluster devotion, or compromised allegiance. But maybe some of it is our fault. Maybe…
Continue reading ➞ The Lost Voices: Stories from the DeChurched
The religious landscape of the United States is undergoing a massive cultural shift. In September 2017, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released the "single largest survey of American religious and denominational identity ever conducted." According to the study, in America: 43% self-identify as "white and Christian," compared to 81% in 1976. 24% self-identify as…
Continue reading ➞ The Future of Religion, or Why Church Needs to Change
During Super Bowl XLVII, the Coca-Cola Company set the internet on fire. The one-minute ad titled "It's Beautiful" aired during the pregame commercial break, and by the end of the night, public response to the ad quickly outpaced interest in the game itself (a 43 - 8 blowout win for the Seattle Seahawks against the…
Continue reading ➞ Scandalous Grace in an Era of Moral Outrage and White Supremacists
Trigger Warning: The following article contains graphic sexual content and intense depictions of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is strongly advised. However, none of the hyperlinked text links out to pornographic websites. In January 2017, PornHub - one of the largest online porn sites - released its annual Year In Review statistics. In 2016, PornHub used…
Continue reading ➞ Skin in the Game: The Feminist Case Against Pornography
