From Patreon
The Remnant: That evangelical need to feel picked-on and special
The concept of the remnant is upper-level Christianese. It’s an Extremely Important Word for evangelicals that relates to something they hold especially dear: themselves.
Analyzing Christianity
The Blown Witness: Why evangelical leaders can’t make their flocks behave on social media
Last time we met up, we talked about how evangelicals destroy their witness online. That means they act in ways that decimate their credibility as Christians. Now, evangelicals have engaged with the internet from the beginning almost, so you might well think that they’d be able to behave themselves better Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Evangelicals have always wrecked their witness online
Not long ago, we talked about the evangelical concept of a witness. This Christianese term describes the sum total of their knowledge of Christianity, their wisdom in communicating it, their effectiveness as evangelists, and their overall credibility as people. Evangelicals have never been great at maintaining their witness. In the decades Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Let’s Play: Apologetics Seminar!
As the good folks who sell apologetics materials will tell you, apologetics is of dire importance to evangelical Christianity. For evangelicals, that notion is likely more monolithic than evangelism itself. But the reality, as we’ll see, is far different. Today, we’ll dive into the first part of an apologetics seminar Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Yet again, Southern Baptist leaders caught making life harder for sex abuse victims
Four high-profile Southern Baptist Convention group leaders quietly filed an amicus brief opposing a sex abuse victim’s lawsuit in Kentucky. This lawsuit had nothing to do with them or the SBC, but if successful it could drastically alter the scope and number of lawsuits the SBC faces from similar victims.
Analyzing Christianity
2009: A looming decline that evangelicals refused to believe for years
I bet that nowadays, some people can’t even remember a time when evangelicals weren’t in decline. It’s been going on for a long, long time now. But when one evangelical leader predicted the looming decline of evangelicalism in 2009, the entire Christ-o-sphere erupted into anger and disbelief. They simply couldn’t Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Evangelicals’ witness is looking worse and worse these days
In Christianese, there’s hardly a word that pulls more weight than witness. It acts as a verb, noun, and more in evangelicals’ jargon. But in recent years, they clearly care less and less about it or its importance. They only use it to justify their worst behavior. Today, let’s explore Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Evangelicals might be tiring of their forever war on Halloween
For many years, evangelicals waged a loud and obnoxious war on Halloween. It figured prominently in their culture wars during the Satanic Panic, but even years afterward they regurgitated the propaganda they’d absorbed during those critical years. Somewhere around 2018, though, I wonder if they got tired of fighting Halloween. Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Trump and ‘our religion’ demonstrate evangelicals’ ongoing endgame crisis
In recent months, Donald Trump has been talking about bringing back the anti-Muslim immigration ban from his single term in office.
His white evangelical fanbase loves it. Almost ten years into their decline, they are more touchy than ever about losing credibility and cultural power.
From Patreon
Living color: The value of atheism, diversity, and all hands on deck
Kate Cohen’s excellent essay about the importance of atheists being open about their atheism is exactly right. But maybe we need to extend that sentiment even further.
I’ve been in both situations: a onetime Pentecostal who saw Christianity as the default setting for humanity, and an outsider who was no longer part of the tribe. The difference is everything.