Hi, all! I know it has been a very long time since I've created any new content for this site. I never intended to go into blogging hiatus for seven months, but in the meantime I've been promoting my coedited anthology, Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church. I was doing some public speaking … Continue reading A Personal Update and Some Thoughts on Pluralism
Epic Christian Fails: The Stepford Second Lady
In honor of Halloween, I've decided to make October's #EpicChristianFails entry more horror than humor. That being said, the occasion that inspired this month's blog post did elicit a dark chuckle and a smirk from me, while providing a heaping helping of disgust as well. It's definitely not a knee-slapper, but it does involve knees. … Continue reading Epic Christian Fails: The Stepford Second Lady
Epic Christian Fails: Pastor Robert Jeffress and the Greta Thunberg Contingency
Robert Jeffress, toxic Christian Zionist, pastor of the 13,000-strong megachurch First Baptist Dallas, and Trump toady extraordinaire, has a solid record when it comes to taking the Bible literally. The prominent Southern Baptist leader has never shied away from such straight-shooting statements as, "We know from the Bible that in fact, we do have a common … Continue reading Epic Christian Fails: Pastor Robert Jeffress and the Greta Thunberg Contingency
Reflections on Religion News Association’s 2019 Conference
On Wednesday, September 18, I flew to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the annual conference of Religion News Association, an organization that has been around since 1949. https://twitter.com/C_Stroop/status/1174050109606129664?s=20 Some time back, ex-evangelical journalist Liam Adams invited me to be part of a panel on religion reporting and social media along with him, Aysha Khan, and Sophia … Continue reading Reflections on Religion News Association’s 2019 Conference
Christian Dominionism: A Beginner’s Guide to Terms and Context
At the encouragement of an anonymous colleague and friend, who has given me access to software that allows me to create infographics, I've been thinking about ways to put the software--Adioma--to good use. The first infographic I created features a set of six anti-proselytizing principles. I released it on Twitter, and I expanded on the … Continue reading Christian Dominionism: A Beginner’s Guide to Terms and Context
We are Not a Crisis: Lament the Problems of the Church If You Must, but Stop Erasing Ex-Evangelicals
Anyone other than an editor of a major centrist media outlet might have decided that in July 2019, the jeremiad-over-evanglelical-hypocrisy think piece should be considered passé. So of course Peter Wehner recently published just another such lament in The Atlantic. Don't get me wrong; I'd rather have pundits criticizing conservative, mostly white evangelicals for their hypocrisy … Continue reading We are Not a Crisis: Lament the Problems of the Church If You Must, but Stop Erasing Ex-Evangelicals
#EvangelicalIntoEnglish, Missionary Edition: Unpacking Ed Stetzer’s Spin on the Death of Radical Missionary John Chau
In my latest for Playboy, "On the Death of John Chau and the Madness of Missionaries," I wrote: That John Chau was a product of the radical apocalyptic evangelical milieu I grew up in, and driven by its approach to missions, thus seems undeniable. Why, then, is the commentary from the most prominent evangelical outlets relatively sparse? … Continue reading #EvangelicalIntoEnglish, Missionary Edition: Unpacking Ed Stetzer’s Spin on the Death of Radical Missionary John Chau
Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Christian Abuse Survivor, College Student, and Future Journalist Elizabeth Hunter, Part I
Be warned that today's installment of Ex-Evangelical Conversations is a very disturbing read. Currently a senior at a Christian college, Elizabeth Hunter's path has been a harrowing one of survival involving parental negligence, re-homing, sexual abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, humiliation, and starvation, mostly from the adults in her environment who were supposed to be nurturing and … Continue reading Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Christian Abuse Survivor, College Student, and Future Journalist Elizabeth Hunter, Part I
Happy 4th? On the Complicated Problem of Patriotism in Conditions of Injustice
"We've got the American Jesus Bolstering national faith We've got the American Jesus Overwhelming millions every day." – Bad Religion, "American Jesus," Recipe for Hate (1993) Some Reflections for Independence Day, July 4, 2018 Yesterday, Mandy Nicole, founder and editor-in-chief of Fundamentally Free, a multi-author ex-evangelical blog, published a piece called "Evangelicalism Killed my Patriotism." She notes the presence … Continue reading Happy 4th? On the Complicated Problem of Patriotism in Conditions of Injustice
Not Your Mission Field 