In a recent TED talk techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci talked about a developing dystopian culture being fed to us by the advertising on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media sites. She described following a series of YouTube videos about Donald Trump, and how they quickly led to a series of white supremacist videos, which grew in … More Avoiding the Distopian Future
I wasn’t raised in the evangelical church or the Catholic Church, and nobody did anything nasty to me in those settings when I was young. Nobody did anything nasty to my childhood friends in those settings either. Of course, most of them, like me, had their church in the pool, the beach and the sun, … More I do not have your hang-ups
Today, there was a meeting at Salem State University. The meeting was called, because students wanted to talk about the problem of racism. On the other hand, the Art Department wanted to discuss the issue of the First Amendment and censorship. At stake was an art piece in an exhibit entitled “The State of the … More KKK Art, Salem State, the Problem with America in Microcosm
The country vs. city, white vs. black, millennials vs. the rest of the voting population, those who believed we were better off vs. those who felt things have gotten worse, struggling middle class vs. the rest…these are a few of the battle lines drawn between the two parties in the system vying for our attention. … More Why the Nation is Divided 50/50: National Identities and Political Factions
In full disclosure, I am white Christian, and therefore would appear to be part of the power structure of conservatism, but I did not vote for Trump, and my own history shows me to be somewhat of a rebel to the system. If you don’t understand how Evangelical Christianity fell into what appears to be … More How Could the White Christians Do This to Us?
This recent article in the Religion News Service outlines the recent findings by a study from the Public Religion Research Institute. The study suggests that most of those who have been leaving churches in recent years have done so because they simply stopped believing. My experience is an inversion on these statistics. I go to … More I know – I go where those who “stopped believing” go
By Phil Wyman The following is not meant to persuade anyone’s choice in the upcoming Presidential election. Rather, these are personal observations and feelings about this year’s Presidential election cycle. They represent my own thoughts, and a growing number of people I have been meeting along the way. There are some of us, who truly … More The Case for Not Voting
The book Burning Religion is a study in the spaces between people in disagreement, between political and national views, between church and secular life, and even between nations. The rise of Donald Trump’s run for the Presidency, and last week’s successful “leave” Brexit vote in Britain highlights the issue of the spaces and the boundaries between … More Brexit, Trump, Fences and Neighbors
For the last few decades, there has been a great degree of information in evangelism and missions circles about Christians in the marketplace. I certainly would not negate the need for committed Christian believers to take up their space in the marketplace in order to fulfill the Great Commission. But, after mixing it up in … More Christians in the Playplace
“Humanity is objectified by the objects it objectifies. We are abused by the systems and the people we abuse. They become ghosts haunting us. They become the demons of our tortured nights.” – Burning Religion pg. 70 In Man’s Search for Meaning,[i] neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl begins his story of imprisonment in the Nazi … More Our Vote Betrays Us (Part 3)
We are enamored with strength, fame, and money. We have given these things nearly messianic attributes. It appears we think that they will save us, or so, that is how it looks this voting season. But, I believe our votes have the potential to betray us. The Strengths Movement looks back to Peter Drucker’s books … More Our Vote Betrays Us (Part 2)
The 2016 Presidential campaign is making fools out of the American people. The world is both laughing and/or incredulously horrified at what they are seeing. Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin suggested that other people knew us better than we know ourselves. This is certainly not true in every respect, but when people watch our actions, we … More Our Vote Betrays Us (Part 1)
“The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!” Donald Trump – Christmas Day Tweet I am weighing into this topic about Pope Francis and Trump six days after it blew up – rather late considering the pace of the news, but then … More Trump, You’ve been Poped! – evaluating the exchanges between them
A cultured individual does not talk about certain things in public. Well, not at least in cultured settings, but the taboos of discussion have expanded far beyond the realms of the cultured, and are now coffeehouse, and pub taboos as well, unless of course, one is willing to tacitly agree with the most disagreeable things. … More Trump, Wasserman and Taboo Talk as Social Justice
I am reading two books at the same time. Well, that’s not exactly true. I am actually reading 9 or 10 books at the same time. But, as per my usual reading style, I have a couple books I am pouring through, while the others are either on hold, or I peck through them slowly … More Memory the Monkey and My Problem with Reading
Burning Religion 