Articles By: John Pattison

John Pattison is the Deputy Editor and Book Editor of the Burnside Writers Collective. He is also a frequent contributor to RELEVANT Magazine and RELEVANT Online. John is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. He lives in Oregon's Willamette Valley with his wife, Kate, and two year-old daughter Molly. He blogs at http://johnerikpattison.com/.

Untitled Poem No. 2

I do not see your face in the moon Though once I saw your face in the moonlight, and I cannot find you in the sunset Though once we walked Through an explosion of amber, ruby and topaz And talked of nothing and all things and sun things. I look for you in the stars of steel And space-age plastics that...

August 31st, 2010 | Featured, Poetry | Read More

The American Patriot’s Bible

Editor’s Note: Last month and then again last week, Fox News host Glenn Beck featured as his guest, Dr. Richard Lee, pastor of First Redeemer Church in Cummings, Georgia and General Editor of “The American Patriot’s Bible”, a book which (in its own words) “intersects the...

August 31st, 2010 | Books, Featured | Read More

Shop Talk: A Poem

Dominant Male, requires adoring and obedient submissive for strict discipline and body worship. Vintage-model SWM, 50, looking for experienced driver with well-kept garage who prefers smooth driving for possible long-distance adventure. I handle mountain roads well and still have juice in the battery. Voice...

August 17th, 2010 | Poetry | Read More

Talking Past Each Other

A few days ago the Writers Collective ran a short, provocative essay by Dylan Peterson about “Inherit the Wind”, Stanley Kramer’s 1960 movie about the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, and the never-ending kerfuffle between evolution and creationism. Dylan, a writer I admire and count...

April 23rd, 2010 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Reform on a Richter Scale

I watched with fascination and concern this week as shockwaves from the health care reform (HCR) law rippled through the national conversation. Most of the grumbling I heard on talk radio the day after the bill passed was about how insurance companies could no longer deny coverage to individuals with...

March 27th, 2010 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Or Is He?

A couple days ago I finished reading a very good book, “The Language of God,” by Francis C. Collins, the longtime head of the Human Genome Project and, by the way, an evangelical Christian. At one point in the book, Collins cites a 2004 Gallup poll which asked the following question: “Which...

November 27th, 2009 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Listening Party: Rich Mullins

“The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume One” – 1991 “The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume Two” – 1992 “A Liturgy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band” – 1993 In the summer of 2001, I drove between Nebraska and the west coast three times. I listened...

September 19th, 2009 | Featured, Music | Read More

Isn’t Life Delicious?

Once when I was a kid, we were watching television together as a family, and this McDonald’s commercial came on. It’s the one where a little kid brings his dad to school as his show and tell. The kid says something like “This is my dad. He’s my best friend.” Then somebody...

September 17th, 2009 | Television | Read More

Evangelical Myths

A couple months ago I started watching the television show “Northern Exposure” on DVD. “Northern Exposure,” which ran for six seasons on CBS starting in 1990, is set in the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska. One of the most fascinating themes of this quirky, funny, and sometimes deeply moving...

August 27th, 2009 | Essays | Read More

Burnside Readers Collective

Relevant Online asked me a few days ago if I could write an article on the best books of 2009 so far. But rather than compile a list that reflected only my own limited tastes, I asked a few regular contributors to the BWC to write a paragraph or two about some of their recent favorites. Head over to...

August 13th, 2009 | Books | Read More