The Games We Play
Evangelical Men’s Impossible Dream of Marriage
What these men want in marriage isn’t completely unreasonable. So (I wondered) why can’t they find it?
SBC Watching
How and Why Al Mohler Changed His Mind About Women Pastors
Hi and welcome back! We’ve been talking lately about the re-erupting squabble in evangelicalism about women pastors. In particular, the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) hate the idea. And in most particular, Al Mohler hates the idea. Long ago, he fully supported women pastors. But now he’s 100% against Read more
The Games We Play
How Evangelical Husbands (Don’t) Repair Their Troubled Marriages
Evangelical men get taught completely impractical rules for marriage, and then — once everything goes completely pear-shaped — take disastrous advice to fix their ruined relationships. Today, let me show you some of that disastrous advice — and why it absolutely doesn’t work, and what evangelical husbands learn as a result.
The Games We Play
How Evangelical Men Try (And Fail) to Pick Perfect Wives
We’ve been talking lately about right-wing Christians’ conceptualization of marriage. Uniformly, their marriage rules don’t work well, and their expectations of mates skyrockets well above what they can reasonably ask of anybody. But there’s one aspect to the evangelical dating game in particular that stands as a disaster amid everything else they do around marriage. Today, let me show you how evangelical leaders advise the men in their group to choose wives — and then we’ll check out who they actually pick.
The Games We Play
Single Evangelical Women Ask ‘Where Have All the Good Men Gone’
I recently ran across a 2008 book by A.J. Kiesling called ‘Where Have All the Good Men Gone?’ Its subtitle reveals its main focus: ‘Why So Many Christian Women Are Remaining Single.’ And we’ll all be happy to know that she landed on some explanations for the growing number of frustrated single women. Today, I’ll offer up a review of this book — and present its main failing, an over-reliance on false narratives.
Analyzing Christianity
UYC: Single Christian Man Tells ‘Christian Girls’ Never to Settle (LSP #159)
He’s one of many, many thousands of men and women in his end of Christianity desperately seeking spouses these days. And his reaction to frustration is, sadly, all too common for authoritarian male Christians.
Analyzing Christianity
‘Christian Love’ Flows As Jen Hatmaker Divorces
Hi and welcome back! I know nobody’s surprised when we talk about evangelical hypocrisy. They’re soaking in it! However, today’s story might represent one of the more egregious recent examples of that trope. Jen Hatmaker, a popular Christian speaker/author, recently announced her impending divorce. As expected, most people responded with compassion. But Read more
Analyzing Christianity
If Only He Knew: First, Assume Women Aren’t People
Lately, we’ve been discussing the terrible Christian marriage-advice book If Only He Knew. Written by Gary Smalley, the book seeks to walk men through repairs to their failing marriages. But his fans only want advice that will allow them to keep the ideology destroying their relationships. They especially protect one central idea, the pillar of complementarianism: women as less-than-human. Indeed, complementarianism only works if women aren’t really people. Here’s why.
Analyzing Christianity
Evangelicals: Nope, still in denial over their decline
Recently, some irresponsible folks over at Newsweek let him and a pal blather at length about how they perceive the SBC’s decline. Come see these two ear-ticklers get set straight!
Analyzing Christianity
J.D. Greear knows how to solve the SBC’s misogyny problem, too!
Poor J.D. Greear. Dude literally just got elected the Grand High Lord Poobah of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and he’s already stomping on my last nerve. Last time we touched on his solutions to the SBC’s years-long decline. Today, we’ll look at his non-solution to the problem of misogyny in his blighted, embattled denomination–and why it won’t work at all. And then we’ll look at why that’s the point.