The Narthex

Pop quiz: Which major ecclesial body recently described itself as a “trans” church? Need a hint? This ecclesial body is a former state church, and with 5.9 million members is the largest denomination in that nation. Stumped? We’re talking about the Church of Sweden, an Evangelical Lutheran body and the…

It was a Thursday afternoon. I was working from home and had just finished a coffee break with my wife when one of the neighbors called through my front screen door, “Come quickly. There’s been an emergency.” I rushed to her house, where another of our neighbors from the block,…

Remember the U.S. Army’s old advertising slogan, “Freedom Isn’t Free”? Now we know that sexual freedom isn’t free either. According to a USA Today report (Feb. 27), since July 1, 2016, when President Obama lifted the transgender ban in the armed forces, the Pentagon has spent nearly $8 million treating…

In the wake of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony during Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation hearings, her supporters exhorted us to “Believe Women.” That phrase became a rallying cry against sexual assault generally and Kavanaugh specifically. What does it mean to “Believe Women”? In its most basic sense, it means that we…

Student protests have become routine, such that nobody takes them seriously anymore. So now, the adults are getting involved — as they did with last April’s walkouts for gun control — approving and supporting their charges’ acts of “defiance” — which really don’t defy anything if everybody is on board…