There is no cultural event in contemporary life that draws as much cross-demographic interest as the Super Bowl. In a world where the monoculture has largely gone extinct, the Super Bowl remains that one thing where men and women, young and old, rich and poor, black and white, conservative and liberal, the football passionate and … Continue reading The Best Super Bowl Commercial
If I hadn't already sworn off using the word, I'd say that I was deconstructing my faith a bit lately. Don't panic. I'm not experiencing anything like a crisis of faith. In some respects, it's just the opposite. Lately I've been questioning some of the unconscious assumptions that inform my faith with the result that … Continue reading Confronting My Inner Deist
The world changed forever at the end of this past November. If you aren't a very online person, you may not have any idea what I'm talking about. But if you do spend much time online, particularly on Twitter, you are aware of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence. It is certainly … Continue reading The Robots are Coming
Recently I was speaking at a church on the topic of cultural engagement. It's a huge and complex topic. It's also, understandably, a controversial topic. It's controversial for a few reasons. First, there are often very controversial issues at stake, issues related to politics, sex, family, entertainment, education, and wealth to name just a few. … Continue reading 3 “Through Lines” of Contemporary Culture and How Living Churches Probably Shouldn’t Respond
Within the Church (broadly speaking) there are two groups of people. Not everyone in the Church fits into one of these groups. In fact, many people in the Church are a little weirded out by these two groups. This is largely because the people in these two groups tend to be agitators. They stir things … Continue reading Social Justice from the Left and the Right
An estimated 4.1 billion people watched Queen Elizabeth's funeral. That number is literally incomprehensible. Even if it is a wild overestimation, it seems reasonable to assume that people numbering into the billions watched the services. In a time where monoculture has largely ceased to exist, it's hard to imagine any event coming remotely close to … Continue reading Pageantry
A while ago I wrote a piece titled "What is a Woman?" I'll admit that it was a provocative piece. I frankly don't see any reason to write anything unless it is provocative. What a waste of time. My intent is never to provoke purely emotional responses. Emotional responses are easy to illicit on the … Continue reading 5(ish) Books on Understanding and Ministering in the Transgender Moment
In Huxley's dystopian novel, Brave New World, sex has been completely removed from any traditional constraints. Sex literally has nothing to do with procreation or love. In fact, these things are seen as dangerous, backward, and uncivilized. Sex must be love-less, child-less, and meaning-less. Children are taught to experiment from a very young age in … Continue reading Sex at the End of the World
Yesterday, I was on the road coming back from two weeks at a summer conference for high school students when I got a call from my daughter. She was full of questions and anxiety. Like the rest of us, she had just heard about the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe. She had already seen students expressing … Continue reading Why Not Abortion? An Answer to My Teenage Daughter
Chad Ragsdale 