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
Tag: Gospel
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
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
Eschatological Despair, Part 4: The Death of My Son’s Teacher
by John Ellis Lord willing, this will be the final article in this rambling series. At least for now. I think. And I think so because my thoughts on despair have begun to collate and shift in the specific conceptual directions of political theology and ecclesiology (separately yet connected). I also chose the descriptor “rambling” … Continue reading Eschatological Despair, Part 4: The Death of My Son’s Teacher
Eschatological Despair, Part 3: The Hyperreality of the Here and Now
by John Ellis To help explain the concept of hyperreality, Jean Baudrillard liked to draw his readers and listeners attention to Epcot Center. Commenting on the theme park’s World Showcase pavilions, the famed sociologist would ironically muse on how much “better” Disney’s version of Europe is than the real thing. Better food and less travel … Continue reading Eschatological Despair, Part 3: The Hyperreality of the Here and Now
Should Christians Reject the Word/Concept of Worldview?: Part 2
by John Ellis A little after 2am this morning, I woke up. That’s not unusual; as I approach 50, the platitude “sleep like a baby” makes more and more sense. It makes more and more sense by way of contrast, to be clear. What was semi-unusual about this morning is that I couldn’t get back … Continue reading Should Christians Reject the Word/Concept of Worldview?: Part 2
Eschatological Despair, Part 2
(Read part 1 by clicking here.) by John Ellis For the longest time, Derrida famously refused to allow a photo of himself to be included on his books’ dust jackets. Besides his desire to undercut the fetishization of the author, he also rejected author photos on the basis of what philosopher John McDowell has called … Continue reading Eschatological Despair, Part 2
White Evangelicalism: Witness to the Wrong Resurrection – Chapter 2: The Folly of the Cross
by John Ellis “[I]n embodying the cross, the church throws into question Everyman’s everyday assumptions about the meaning of life and the human good.” Kevin Vanhoozer[1] Religion is not a private matter – true religion, that is. The cross demands otherwise. Multiple times, the Gospels record Jesus’ enjoinment to his disciples to take up their … Continue reading White Evangelicalism: Witness to the Wrong Resurrection – Chapter 2: The Folly of the Cross
The Idol of Unity Is Undermining the Evangelical Witness
by John Ellis I speak from experience. As a pastor, I elevated unity above honesty, courage, and integrity. Because therein lies the path of least resistance. For a brief time, I was a pastor in a reformed-ish Southern Baptist affiliated church. And I’ve observed in other pastors what I’m about to write. What’s more, pastor … Continue reading The Idol of Unity Is Undermining the Evangelical Witness
