Child predators use popular social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube — not the Dark Web — to traffic illegal content between one other. We must change the way we approach the subject if we want to see children rescued and child abusers brought to justice.

This piece contains extensive and explicit references to trauma, abuse, pedophilia, and child pornography. If you are triggered by any of these things, please do not read further.

Last week, the BBC published a short little story about Germany’s investigation into a 30,000+ strong network of pedophiles. One of the Justice Ministers investigating…

What follows is something like a commentary on the first chapter of Genesis, and is a continuation of an in-depth examination of Young Earth Creationism.

Part 1: An Introduction
Part 2: Ex Nihilo
Part 3: The Atmosphere, the Argument, and the Ark

As you’ve probably seen, this entry is long: just under ten thousand words. I don’t intend for you to read it all in one sitting, even though I have written it in a way that it is an ongoing conversation rather than a sporadic study. …

No Time To Die

Hamilton’s Notes: What the Daniel Craig era has done with this iconic character that I grew up with is nothing short of mind-blowing. Showing Bond’s cracks — a character traditionally associated with hyper-masculinity and stoic lethality — is what art and film are for: sinking an idea into concrete to figure out what blows it up.

Shelby’s Notes: Rami Malek. Part of me wishes they’d kept his reveal out of all trailers and we’d just heard his voice. I almost put this one on my hype list but figured it would wind up on yours.

Saint Maud

Disclaimer RIGHT off the bat: I’m talking about things that, for any number of reasons, may trigger some. My intention in this piece is to examine the way we, as Christians, talk about things that personally offend us, and not to bring up painful memories of abuse or trigger lustful thoughts that you, personally, may be struggling with. This is written by a Christian FOR Christians.

I did my weekly log-on to Facebook yesterday and saw that a *whole lot* of you are pretty up-in-arms about two dancers who are known for dancing provocatively doing the same thing they’ve been…

Pigeonholed Into Denial is an ongoing series dedicated to understanding, explaining, and responding to Young Earth Creationism without anybody calling anyone an idiot.

The previous installments can be seen here:
Part 1: An Introduction
Part 2: Ex Nihilo — A brief history of Young Earth Creationism

Profound Sympathy

Answers in Genesis is an American non-profit with a threefold mission statement, per last year’s 990:

We proclaim the absolute truth and authority of the Bible with boldness.

We relate the relevance of a literal Genesis to the church and the world today with creativity.

We obey God’s call to deliver the message of…

Can wisdom be documented in mere words? Is ecstasy reportable? Is there a way to look upon sorrow quietly, to consider it slowly and in detail, with all the time we require?

Is a poem, which after all is only a literary construct within an imagined framework, a reasonable way to understand the world?

The answer to all of these questions, apparently, is yes.

-Mary Oliver

On Art: A Preamble

Let’s begin with a pedantic question: What is art?

One answer is the apparent: it’s a fresco gawked at by Very Cultured people. It’s an opera performed for couples in formal wear. It’s a…

How To Talk About Young Earth Creationism Without Calling Anyone an Idiot

This is part two of a four-part series exploring Young-Earth Creationism and the merits of discussing the intersection of religious faith and scientific inquiry. You can see the introduction here.

In 2011, we rented a 12-passenger van to drive from Chattanooga to Wichita to watch our friend get married. After what I’m sure was a hilarious turn of events, though the specifics escape me, the front seat passenger lost his phone out the window of the moving vehicle, and it bounced around behind us on the interstate somewhere…

In case you’ve been asleep for the past three years, what used to be a relatively underground collection of people have taken their mildly absurd belief — that the Earth is a flat, stationary disc — into the mainstream.

Mostly using social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, this group of people spread their gospel of the Flat Earth: that governments around the world colluded to suppress and cover up the truth, and that you’ve been lied to for your entire life about the fundamental nature of the planet you call home. …