How Mormonism Shaped Mitt

Say what you will about Mitt Romney; he is devoted to his religion. A multi-generational Mormon, he has held high-ranking leadership positions and donated millions of dollars to the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS). For many, religion goes to the core of their belief system, so what does it mean...

November 6th, 2012 | Democracy | Read More

Cross Talk: The Presidential Townhall Debate

In this column, we’ll discuss important current event topics with two Burnside writers who disagree on the issues. One leans left, the other right. Their faith is what helps them to meet in the middle. Usually. Emily: I’m looking forward to this! So James, I’m assuming by now you’ve caught...

October 25th, 2012 | Columns, Cross Talk, Culture, Democracy, Featured | Read More

Political Persuasions and Guilt By Association

It’s hard to nail down that exact moment when it happened. I had always relished taking a side politically, whether it was as a card-carrying liberal in my early 20s or when I reached my late 20s and took a hard turn to the Right. In both my life as a staunch Democrat and later as a die-hard Republican,...

October 15th, 2012 | Blog, Democracy, Essays | Read More

Let My People Vote!

Citizenship takes different forms at different times and in different situations. Voting is one—but only one—form of expressing our values and allegiances. The ancient Greeks (who gave us Democracy) defined citizenship by the degree of community engagement. In other words, to the ancient Greeks,...

September 26th, 2012 | Democracy | Read More

The “Lost” Wittenburg Door Interview with Baptist Legend (or, Heretic) Glenn Hinson

Dr. E. Glenn Hinson: world-renowned church historian, respected and sought-after leader in Christian Spirituality, and everyone’s favorite living Baptist heretic. In late summer/early fall 2007, I interviewed Dr. E. Glenn Hinson for the religious satire magazine The Wittenburg Door. Contract...

September 18th, 2012 | Democracy, Essays | Read More

The Gospel Shell Game

Have you ever known anyone imprisoned by a cell of their own making? Perhaps we all do it to some degree, but some do it to the extent that their lives are an ever-shrinking, imploding world of self-absorption. Indignation can be addictive, and some seem to have been seduced by it entirely. I know...

August 23rd, 2012 | Blog, Culture, Democracy, Essays | Read More

I’m Batman: the dark (night) of the soul

A box of salty buttered popcorn an American sized iced Dr. Pepper and of course, Raisinets and/or Goobers whatever your preference may be. The infamous six seconds of fading yellow light. Surround sound waves in the dark. A Christopher Nolan trilogy that pits the good against the evil. The misunderstood...

July 31st, 2012 | Democracy, Essays | Read More

Finding Discourse in the Healthcare Ruling

My high school AP government teacher gave me an assignment today. Mr. Lee apparently doesn’t care that I graduated from high school almost ten years ago, but I guess that’s what happens when you friend old teachers on Facebook. Since he was one of my favorites, I decided to humor...

July 18th, 2012 | Democracy, Essays | Read More

How to Satisfy Jesus (via the Gospel of Elvis)

I wish I had a nickle for every time God spoke to me through Elvis. Like Elvis’ song “A Little Less Conversation”: A little less conversation, a little more action please; All this aggravation ain’t satisfactionin’ me; A little more bite and a little less bark; A little less fight and...

June 13th, 2012 | Culture, Democracy | Read More

Of Health Care and Human Rights

Words swirl around the issue of healthcare in the USA as if it were some kind of arcane medieval discussion along the lines of discerning how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. But healthcare, like love, is no abstraction. It matters, and makes sense, only when it directly touches – or...

May 25th, 2012 | Democracy, Editorial, Family, Social Justice | Read More

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