Author: Adam Lee Benner
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‘Christian Nationalism’ Isn’t Christian
When Rocky Balboa defeated the juiced Russian monster, Ivan Drago, on his home turf, my young heart was stirred. Vengeance for Apollo! And when he drew a standing ovation from the entire Politburo with his “everybody can change” speech, I shed tears. Red, white and blue tears. Take that, Soviets! Now, years later, it turns…
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Submission to All, Allegiance to None
Submission can be painful and humbling. When Steve What’s-His-Name kicked my ass back in the fifth grade, pulling my jacket over my head hockey-style and twisting my arm behind my back until I submitted, I won’t lie and say it didn’t sting my pride. Likewise, when writers like Peter and Paul entreat their audiences to…
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The Biggest Relativists of All
Be on your guard, they warned me. A new danger was rising, they warned me. Christianity itself was about to face its greatest existential threat, they warned me. With imprecations like these, some of my evangelical leaders warned me about insidious villains emerging from the dark realm to destroy the very fabric of faith. These…
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We’re Not the Heroes
Scripture so often champions the poor, powerless and oppressed. But we’re not the poor and we’re not the oppressed; we’re the privileged and affluential.
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Joe, Donald, Daniel, Dragons, Doom and Dispensationalism
Sure, there are conspiracies out there. The travesty of hot dogs sold in packs of eight and buns in packs of six – forcing you to buy 3 packs of hotdogs and 4 packs of buns to balance the equation – is well documented. Just another way ‘Big Sausage’ and ‘Big Bakery’ conspire against us….
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Ladies, Front and Centre
If we aren’t listening [to the New Testament evidence] by now, then I’m forced to wonder if we’re simply unfamiliar with this material, or hopelessly stubborn in our intellectually lazy appeals to the same few proof texts, or spineless because we recognise the power of the biblical evidence, but fear inviting controversy in our churches…
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Why I’m Not a Patriot
Eventually, I broke off the love affair with my nation, when I decided it was at odds with my faith. Actually, I just ghosted it until it stopped expecting anything from me.
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Is This the Moment?
This is the moment, I guess. Well, not precisely this moment. At the present moment, we’ll pay respects and acknowledge (I hope) the passing of an extraordinary woman. Sure, the usual assortment of trolls will no doubt emerge from under their bridges to ooze vitriol toward Ruth Bader Ginsberg onto their Twitter feeds. But I…
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A Better Party?
Yesterday, I watched former President Obama’s speech to the Democratic National Convention. And I found myself bemused in the early goings. President Obama waxed eloquently about the “North Star that would guide future generations…to better realise our highest ideals” which was “embedded” in our great Constitution. Yes, admittedly, that holy document didn’t stop power from…
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White Evangelicals: It’s Time to Own Our Choices
We white American Evangelicals should take responsibility for the situation we’ve fostered and the president we’ve enabled.