Paul sharing the gospel at Mars Hill. by John Ellis (note: Early this morning, before beginning work on the final edit of this article, I opened The Gospel Coalition’s website and then clicked on and read “Not Your Typical Apologetics Book,” an interview of Gavin Ortlund by Matt Smethurst about Ortlund’s new book Why God … Continue reading The Hubristic Folly of Apologetics
Which Side of the Political Aisle Should Christians Feel at Home With?
USA - 2012: Hector Casanova illustration of the Democrat donkey and Republican elephant on a seesaw with the plank breaking in the middle. (The Kansas City Star/MCT via Getty Images via Getty Images) by John Ellis By all accounts, society is fracturing. The talking heads and our eyeballs tell us that society has split apart, … Continue reading Which Side of the Political Aisle Should Christians Feel at Home With?
Understanding Systemic Racism and CRT: A Christmas Wish List
by John Ellis With Christmas around the corner, many of us are busy updating our Amazon wish list or simply compiling a “Dear Santa” list the old-fashioned way. To the best of my knowledge, most of my friends stock their lists with books. To help determine some edifying books to include on your list, below … Continue reading Understanding Systemic Racism and CRT: A Christmas Wish List
My Daughter, Virginia Woolf, and Kids Disagreeing With Their Parents
by John Ellis For a project in high school, I wrote an editorial calling for my school to drop the school uniform policy in favor of a policy allowing students to wear the clothes of their choice (with the understanding that there would still be a dress code). Since my school didn’t teach rhetoric and … Continue reading My Daughter, Virginia Woolf, and Kids Disagreeing With Their Parents
How Long Shall the Wicked Prosper?: A Competing Narrative of the United States of America
Digital image of original artifact. by John Ellis Yesterday morning before Sunday school class began, the young man teaching asked about my t-shirt. “What kind of flag is that on your shirt?” “It’s the A.I.M. logo,” I replied through my mask. His expression revealed that “A.I.M.” wasn’t translating through the double-ply cotton. “The logo for … Continue reading How Long Shall the Wicked Prosper?: A Competing Narrative of the United States of America
What Should Christians Do When Asked to Make Anti-Abortion Arguments Without Using the Bible?
by John Ellis With SCOTUS’ decision to allow Texas’s heartbeat bill to stand, abortion finds itself again among the most heated of topics within the public square. Not that the issue has ever drifted far from a place of prominence in our national discussion, but the current debate has reached a high-pitched fervor owing to … Continue reading What Should Christians Do When Asked to Make Anti-Abortion Arguments Without Using the Bible?
Facebook Fact Checkers, Foucault, and the Far Right
by John Ellis This article is my diagnosis of why it’s increasingly more difficult to have profitable conversations with friends and family who are on the other side of the debate about things like COVID (masks and vaccines), social justice issues, whether the election was rigged or not, and the myriad of other cultural hot … Continue reading Facebook Fact Checkers, Foucault, and the Far Right
Postcolonialism and Christian Ethics
by John Ellis Of late, I’ve been studying the postcolonial (decolonization) theories of Frantz Fanon. Violent. Bloody. Absolute. In Fanon’s words, "Decolonization, which sets out to change the order of the world, is clearly an agenda for total disorder.”[1] What is a Christian to do with postcolonialism? Please bear with me for a paragraph or … Continue reading Postcolonialism and Christian Ethics
Don’t Miss the Parallels Between Pope Pius XI and Evangelical Leaders Who Support Trump
by John Ellis The rhetorical bullying of Godwin’s Law aside, it hasn’t been unusual since 2015 to find those who tease out parallels between Hitler and Donald Trump as well as 1930s Germany and contemporary white evangelicalism. And it’s not unusual because parallels seemingly write themselves from time to time. While successfully resisting the urge … Continue reading Don’t Miss the Parallels Between Pope Pius XI and Evangelical Leaders Who Support Trump
Film’s Superiority Over Theatre
by John Ellis I am (was) a theatre artist. But when asked, I always state that I'd much prefer going to the movies over the theatre, and not just because I can eat popcorn and not feel constrained by the myriad of ridiculous "theatre appreciation" rules audiences are expected to adhere to while watching a … Continue reading Film’s Superiority Over Theatre
Practically Known Theology 