by John Ellis I didn’t read many pages into The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt before methodological red flags began waving in my face. A quick Google search uncovered scores of articles taking The New York Time’s bestseller to task for a … Continue reading Critiquing ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt
Category: White Evangelicalism
The Petty Meanness of the Trump Administration Is a Sinister Warning to Christians (fonts are the new front in MAGA’s War on Wokeness)
by John Ellis Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the State Department to revert to the Times New Roman font in all official documents. His order reverses one his predecessor, Secretary Antony Blinken, made in 2023 requiring all official State Department documents be typed using the Calibri font. Secretary Rubio’s reason, as explained in … Continue reading The Petty Meanness of the Trump Administration Is a Sinister Warning to Christians (fonts are the new front in MAGA’s War on Wokeness)
Respecter of Persons: The Lack of Socio-Economic Diversity on Reformed (White) Evangelical Elder Boards
by John Ellis Diversity has become a buzzword among reformed churches over the last couple of decades. While buzziness can bring more heat than light, the desire for churches to reflect the beautiful diversity of God’s Kingdom is good and right. Most often, this desire and the accompanying strategies focus on ethnic diversity. The segregation … Continue reading Respecter of Persons: The Lack of Socio-Economic Diversity on Reformed (White) Evangelical Elder Boards
Knowledge Is Not Neutral: or, How ‘Data Over Dogma’ Is Idolatrous
by John Ellis I’m currently reading – working through – Frederic Jameson’s A Singular Modernity. Jameson is probably best known as a Marxist literary critic, but his work crosses multiple avenues, notably political theory and cultural/societal criticism. I’ve been exposed to Jameson via various books by other authors, articles, and lectures[1], but A Singular Modernity … Continue reading Knowledge Is Not Neutral: or, How ‘Data Over Dogma’ Is Idolatrous
What Christian Nationalists Have in Common with Lenin
by John Ellis (Edit on 8/19/25: I'm currently rereading Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts by Marx and realized that I made a small error. Marx didn't believe that communism was necessarily the final stage for humans. He believed that it was impossible to know when/what the final stage, if there ever is one, will be. So, … Continue reading What Christian Nationalists Have in Common with Lenin
The Syncretism of American Mythologies and White Evangelicalism
by John Ellis Several years ago, while living in Arlington, VA, a church member approached me with a concern about my use of the title king for Jesus. It wasn’t so much the title as my near constant use of it. Whenever I prayed publicly, preached, taught Sunday school, etc., I made it a point … Continue reading The Syncretism of American Mythologies and White Evangelicalism
Deadly Worship Services: How Corporate Worship Serves the Curse
by John Ellis As a teaser, I ended my previous article with this quote from Antonin Artaud: “And if there is still one hellish, truly accursed thing in our time, it is our artistic dallying with forms, instead of being like victims burnt at the stake, signaling through the flames.”[1] Artaud’s highly imagistic words underline … Continue reading Deadly Worship Services: How Corporate Worship Serves the Curse
Consumerism Sits at the Center of White Evangelicalism
by John Ellis Readers of this blog are (should be) aware of my thoughts on white evangelicalism. The deeper I dive into the history of the movement, the more convinced I’ve become that white evangelicalism is a false religion. This past summer, historian Matthew Sutton published an article in Oxford Academic: Journal of the American … Continue reading Consumerism Sits at the Center of White Evangelicalism
‘For Our Daughters’: Exposing Abuse Within Complementarianism
by John Ellis I was well into adulthood before I first began hearing the stories of abuse suffered by females I grew up with. Many of their abusers were men in positions of authority. Their stories are not mine to tell, though. As an elder in a 9 Marks church, I had firsthand knowledge of … Continue reading ‘For Our Daughters’: Exposing Abuse Within Complementarianism
TV Sitcom Dad Versus Complementarian Dad: Is There Even a Difference?
by John Ellis In her latest comedy special,[1] Nikki Glaser reveals to the audience that she doesn’t want to have kids, confessing that being a mom is too much work. She then reluctantly admits that she could be a bad mom because being a bad mom doesn’t require a lot of work, quickly adding, “like … Continue reading TV Sitcom Dad Versus Complementarian Dad: Is There Even a Difference?
Practically Known Theology 