Alanbean

LATEST ARTICLES ( 627 )

• Post-evangelical Evangelism

  When you do a lot if blogging, you quickly discover that successful posts (as measured by clicks and shares) are therapeutic.  Say nice things about your side o... Read more

  Posted on 20 October 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Is God Bipolar?

  The Bible doesn’t give us a consistent portrait of God’s character.  1st John assures us that God is the light of love and in him there is no shadow of... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Repent!

  I am a hospice chaplain.  It isn’t my job to convert my patients to my religious vision.  I meet them where they are, which is never a good place to be.  But... Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Is Liberal Religion a Slippery Slope?

  This post describes the contemporary religious dilemma that inspired me to write Breaking the Silence (or whatever I end up calling the book that’s rattling... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Breaking the Silence

  I want to write a book that addresses all the issues, questions and concerns we weren’t allowed to mention when I was growing up in the 1950s and 60s. Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Building a Texas Theocracy?

  

  Rep. Matt Krause, Rep. Matt Rinaldi, Senator Konni Burton and Rep. Jonathan SticklandBy Alan Bean“We’re hosting Senator Konni Burton, Rep. Matte Krause, Rep.... Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• The White Singularity: The Racial Divide in American Evangelicalism

  

  By Alan Bean“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” President Trump said. Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• The Curse of Ham: Black Baptists Question Their Place in the SBC

  

  By Alan BeanDwight McKissic couldn’t believe his ears and eyes. The towering black Baptist pastor from Arlington, Texas, had flown to Phoenix for the Southern... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Enemy Love and American Politics

  

  As liberals and conservatives battle for dominance American religion has been co-opted by both sides.Conservatives want to shore up the mainstays of... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• In Praise of Political Preaching

  

  A few weeks ago, Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to make it easier for churches to participate in the political process. Read more

  Posted on 18 June 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Criticizing Trump is Easy; Creating a Spiritual Alternative is Really Hard.

  

  Last year I spent 250 hours driving around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for my job as a hospice chaplain. As I drive I listen to sermons and lectures from... Read more

  Posted on 18 June 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Why We Ignore Most of the Bible Most of the Time.

  

  We come to the Bible seeking a little relief from the drama in our lives and what do we find? A text cracking and sizzling with fear, rage, resentment and... Read more

  Posted on 18 June 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Murder and Memory: Why Honest Witnesses Get It Terribly Wrong

  

  “It isn’t so astonishing, the number of things that I can remember, as the number of things I can remember that aren’t so.” Mark TwainOn July 16th, 1996, the... Read more

  Posted on 04 June 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Why White Christians Silence Jesus

  By Alan Bean​So what’s your religion?” the young man wanted to know. “My ancestors were Anabaptists,” I said, “and I find myself identifying with that... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Can Tom Wright Save Christianity?

  

  There are two kinds of Christians: those who are comfortable with some version of traditional orthodoxy, and those who worry that their religion has gone off th... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• How Corporate Evangelicalism Elected a President

  

  If religion were a thing that money could buy the rich would live, and the poor would die (Bahamian folk song)Darren Grem wrote The Business of Blessing before... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Ricky Bobby Was Right About Baby Jesus (almost)

  

  By Alan BeanIf you have seen Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, it’s hard to hear Luke’s Christmas story without thinking of the “baby... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2017 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Jesus, Trump and the American Dream

  

  By Alan BeanThe election is over and the season of recrimination begins.Donald Trump will be president, some say, because rural white America is a sinkhole of... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2016 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Joshua Vs Jesus: Why White Evangelicals Love Donald Trump

  

  Almost 80 percent of white American evangelicals plan to vote for Donald Trump, a twice-divorced womanizer who made his name building and gilding casinos. Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2016 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Jesus and John Wayne: Must We Choose?

  

  Evangelical support for Donald Trump should come as no surprise. The Republican candidate personifies idealized white manhood; he’s an iconic American in the... Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2016 DEBATE, SOCIETY