The View from Jesus Land, USA My great-grandpa was the only member of my mom's side of the family never to abandon the Democratic Party for the Republicans. He would not leave the political party of his father. Similarly, a friend of my family's who worked as a lawyer in a small Midwestern town for … Continue reading Escape from Jesus Land: On Recognizing Evangelical Abuse and Finding the Strength to Reject the Faith of Our Fathers
Authoritarian Christianity, or, what Franklin Graham Really Means when he Equates Progressivism with Godlessness
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
Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Cindy Wang Brandt
Today I'm proud to be publishing the following interview with Cindy Wang Brandt, an ex-Evangelical writer and advocate for social justice and healthy parenting for whom I have great respect. Cindy founded and moderates the large, active Facebook community Raising Children Unfundamentalist, where she is truly doing, dare I say it, the Lord's work by … Continue reading Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Cindy Wang Brandt
A Few Words on #ChurchToo: Evangelical Abuse Scandals, Hashtag Campaigns, and Ex-Evangelicals in the Media
On November 21, Hannah Paasch launched a new hashtag campaign that she and Emily Joy had come up with together. #ChurchToo, as Hannah noted in the first tweet with the hashtag, is about a much needed "day of reckoning for the church." Evangelical Protestantism is, as a rule, intensely patriarchal, and the numerous Evangelical abuse … Continue reading A Few Words on #ChurchToo: Evangelical Abuse Scandals, Hashtag Campaigns, and Ex-Evangelicals in the Media
Not Your Mission Field 