History and Science
We like to scare ourselves: The rise of horror games
Fear is part of the human condition. Horror games speak to that part of us and allow us to take a little control over it.
SBC Watching
Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic: Southern Baptists still arguing over women pastors
To outsiders, this newest strategy might not make a whole lot of sense. But to Southern Baptist leaders, it’s the hands-down most important question of their day.
Analyzing Christianity
When Christian ‘evidence’ isn’t evidence at all
Last week, we talked about the Christians who do their best to avoid their rightful burden of proof. In a way, though, that strategy might be better than the one we’re talking about today. When Christians actually try to pony Read more
Analyzing Christianity
Paul Pelosi’s attacker and Gamergate: Old conspiracy theories never die
On Friday morning, 42-year-old David DePape attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul at their home in San Francisco. Internet sleuths quickly found that his extensive internet footprint began with one of the dumbest conspiracy theories to sprout in decades: Gamergate. No Read more
Analyzing Christianity
‘Non-ambiguous evidence,’ support for claims, and the Christians projecting their own dishonesty onto others
I’m nowhere near as dishonest as Christians are. If I ever encountered real evidence to support the existence of the god depicted in the Bible, I would embrace it immediately.
From Patreon
American evangelicals: Still hungry for persecution
American evangelicals have been indoctrinated for decades with tribalistic fantasies of real religious persecution. Their own leaders have also inaccurately described persecution for decades. At this point, the tribe has no idea what persecution really looks like.
Analyzing Christianity
Just Jesus harder to get Gen Z back to church, says Gen Z fundagelical
Let’s look at what it means to Jesus harder, and then let’s explore why fundagelicals keep latching onto this idea as the way to save their tribe from irrelevance.
Gaming
The heartbreak of nerfing in games
Excessive nerfing can lead to an erosion of trust in the playerbase. It hits at the heart of our sense of fairness. And perhaps more than anything else, gamers want games to be fair—or at least skewed in their favor.
From Patreon
Cooperative gaming: the *chef’s kiss* of storytelling
Maybe I should have expected people to start RPing this way. Ever since we began living together, we’ve been telling stories together. From Commedia dell’Arte to ghost stories around campfires to collaborative fictions, shared creativity, uh, finds a way.
Analyzing Christianity
How a deconstruction goes wrong in ‘Before You Lose Your Faith’
This book’s second chapter perfectly illustrates what happens when a deconstruction fails to go far enough.