Alanbean

LATEST ARTICLES ( 628 )

• The Science of False Confessions

  

  Why would anyone confess to a crime they didn't commit? Read more

  Posted on 05 May 2022 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• What Jonathan Haidt and Yascha Mounk Get Wrong About the Culture War

  

  Here's what makes me uneasy.  I don’t believe anywhere near 80% of Americans are down with diverse democracy. Read more

  Posted on 01 May 2022 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Conservatives Say No to the Human Rights Revolution

  We all understand that America is divided; but the source of our division is less clear.  Reduced to its most basic elements, the American culture war, evident... Read more

  Posted on 09 April 2022 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Can the Never Trump Coalition Hold Together?

  At heart, though, the culture war is a white fight. Ask a white person how they feel about abortion or gay rights, and you can usually guess the rest with... Read more

  Posted on 18 February 2022 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Organized Ignorance is Poisoning America

  

  When I speak of "intellectual life", I don't mean the sort of elite conversation one might overhear in a faculty lounge (if such places still exist). Rather,... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2022 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Listening to the Spirit Through the Catch in the Throat

  The catch in my throat signifies that God hasn’t given up on me or the world I inhabit. In spite of pestilence, hardship, insanity, the Spirit is afoot. Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2022 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Ricky Bobby Was Right About Baby Jesus . . . Almost

  Objectively considered, this is a scene of abject misery. The same old depression and despair God's people have come to expect. But, from the perspective of... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Dissecting Boebert’s Cruelty

  Boebert is a divider. Whether or not she will be a conqueror remains to be seen. All we can say now is that her team is flourishing like the green bay tree. Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• “O Mary, Don’t You Weep”: Sister Miriam’s Jesus

  The song of Moses anticipates the conquest of Joshua. The song of Miriam anticipates Jesus, the Second Joshua. Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• When Women Read the Bible

  I am in the middle of a ten-part series based on the theory that American white evangelicals have embraced a Pharaoh mindset. In my next post, I will be dealin... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Pharaoh Sociology: White Evangelicals and the Plague of Social Justice

  

  The problem, from Pharaoh's perspective, is that his slaves aren't working hard because they're lazy. Which brings me to a survey question used to detect high... Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Evangelicals Aren’t Worried About Climate Change; the Real Threat is Science

  From the perspective of mainline evangelicalism, environmentalism is the enemy, the plague besetting America; climate change is nothing to worry about. Having... Read more

  Posted on 30 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• White Evangelicals and the “plague” of Gay Rights

  The white evangelical rejection of gay rights has created a zero-sum game. More rights for gay Americans means fewer rights for evangelicals. Gay people are... Read more

  Posted on 29 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Barack Obama, the Reluctant American Moses

  Like Moses, Obama is a religious and cultural hybrid. Read more

  Posted on 28 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• The Ten Plagues That Drove American White Evangelicals to Madness

  For white evangelicals, 9-11 was particularly traumatic. American was the world's only superpower. Our power limitless. We were Pharaoh. Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Jordan Peterson, the Last Renaissance Man

  

  Peterson's positive reception in Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States suggests that the backlash against "political correctness" runs deep. Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• The Evangelical Civil War

  Wehner’s focus on the collapse of discipleship training and catechesis is entirely legitimate.  But can we draw a fine distinction between the Bible and... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Learning from the Damaged David

  The story calls us to confession, struggle and a firm resolve to fix what we have broken or to die in the attempt. And in that way lies hope. Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• They’ve Got Us All by the Short and Curlies

  

  Lost souls are driving the trainLet’s get one thing clear: Donald Trump isn’t driving the MAGA revolution, nor is he turning Republicans into conspiracy nuts. ... Read more

  Posted on 22 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• White America Doesn’t Want to Hear About Reparations. Here’s Why

  

  White Americans, regardless of party affiliation, view reparations as either unrealistic, inappropriate, or downright evil. I have identified five interlocking... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2021 DEBATE, SOCIETY