I have been busier lately at my sub-blog at Mere Orthodoxy, including a post about 5 different options for fixing American healthcare (including blowing it up!)  As we prepare to return to East Africa, we hope have more to write here! In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been writing lately:

In Violence We Trust?– People often talk about “senseless” violence, but violence makes a lot of sense for people who feel insecure. I explored the relationship between violence, trust, and security and how we can use these ideas to reckon with the problem of inner-city violence in America.

Green Card Holders in the City of Man–  With refugee resettlement and immigration in the news, the Bible is being deployed frequently in our debates (but not always thoughtfully). I wrote about how we might get beyond prooftexting in wrestling with the challenges these issues present to God’s people and their place in the modern nation-state — as well as the world that the Bible anticipates.

“The poor will always be with us” is no reason to cut Medicaid– Congressman Roger Marshall recently applied some… interesting exegesis of Jesus’ words about poverty and Medicaid. I gave a brief response for America magazine about the challenges poor people face in obtaining preventive care and what it will really take to care for all of our bodies.

Living and Dying Well: A Vernacular Podcast– Zac and Sally Crippen invited me to be on their podcast (which is well worth listening to if you enjoy stimulating conversations). We had a great talk about death across cultures, dying well, and a richer understanding of bioethics in medical education.

Making Amends: Eve Tushnet on Addiction in Our Time– Eve Tushnet’s novel “Amends” is the funniest book I have ever read, and it is also moving and beautiful and just go buy it already, k?

Black Mirror, Technology, and the Darkness of Our Hearts– The Christ and Pop Culture Digest had me back to talk about my article about Black Mirror and technology’s power to amplify our sinfulness. We had a great chat!

A Social Justice Warrior in King Roderick’s Court– I have really enjoyed becoming familiar with the work of Plough Magazine and couldn’t miss the opportunity to join them when they hosted Rod Dreher in New York at an event about the Benedict Option. They also pulled together a great panel to respond to Rod, so I explored some of their excellent responses.

Civics is not LARPing– This was supposed to be a sub-blog piece, but I accidentally published it on the Mere Orthodoxy main site. Whoops! I’m glad it was one of the better ones: trying to figure out how to increase civic engagement and cultivate virtue in our peculiar political environment.

Go To Church LOL: An Impertinent Catechism– Everything you ever wanted to know about why Christians and the Church are so awful and why you should go to church even if it’s full of bigots.

Comfort Detox: Free for CaPC Members– Once you know that the stuff you’ve always wanted and the comfort you’ve always worked for isn’t enough, what next? Erin Straza’s book “Comfort Detox” explores this question, so I wrote about it for CaPC (it’s free with a $5-a-month CaPC membership!)