I still love the sea, despite the fact that it almost ruined my life. On a windy day in the fall of 2017, while bodysurfing in the Indian Ocean, I was caught off guard by a huge wave that slammed my head against the seabed and swept the rest of my body over it. TheContinue reading “God, the Sea, and Me: How I Found Peace in the Chaos of Unbelief”
Category Archives: Reflective Essay
5 Things “Severance” Gets Exactly Right About Religious Deconstruction
This post contains spoilers from episodes 1–5 of Severance: Season 1. No spoilers from episodes 6–9 or from Season 2 are discussed. A powerful organization with deep historical roots, founded by a charismatic leader, that demands unquestioning obedience from its members, restricts access to information, stokes fears of the world outside its walls, and inspiresContinue reading “5 Things “Severance” Gets Exactly Right About Religious Deconstruction”
Close Your Bible, Save a Tree: Why Christianity is bad for the environment
What if it’s true? That would be amazing! I’m standing in front of the chimpanzee enclosure at my local zoo when this thought flits through my mind. For the past five minutes, I’ve been gazing at the young ape just beyond the fence — at the lines on his palms, the shape of his nose and mouth,Continue reading “Close Your Bible, Save a Tree: Why Christianity is bad for the environment”
Fire, Foes, & Failed Prophecy: Why Jesus was wrong about the end of the world
We were bound for the Badlands, and I couldn’t have been more excited. When I was a kid, many of my heroes were pulled straight from TV Westerns. There was Davy Crockett from Disney’s King of the Wild Frontier, grinning a grizzly bear into submission. There was True Grit’s Rooster Cogburn, riding into battle withContinue reading “Fire, Foes, & Failed Prophecy: Why Jesus was wrong about the end of the world”
C.S. Lewis’ Greatest Mistake
Many people, on encountering scenes of beauty, whip out their phones and begin snapping photos. I take mental pictures. Whether I’m gazing up at the watercolor wash of a sunset, watching rainwater pool beside streets and sidewalks, or stopping to appreciate the blossoms on a magnolia tree, I spend lots of time looking at thingsContinue reading “C.S. Lewis’ Greatest Mistake”
Spinning at the Crossroads: My Life With Religious OCD
A perilous beautiful move, choosing to throw yourself at the future, even if it means one day coming down in the sea. – Leif Enger, Virgil Wander I. I’m standing in the middle of a country intersection, drenched in rain, and the fields around me are singing. I can hear their music in the soundContinue reading “Spinning at the Crossroads: My Life With Religious OCD”
Maybe There Are Banshees: Friendship, Fault Lines, & the Fractured Conscience of American Christianity
In the opening shots of Martin McDonagh’s film The Banshees of Inisherin, we’re introduced to a fictional Irish town that, at first glance, seems totally idyllic. We descend from the sky, taking in the emerald sweep of pastureland. As the camera drifts along the seaside, we hear strains of an ethereal chorus sung in Gaelic.Continue reading “Maybe There Are Banshees: Friendship, Fault Lines, & the Fractured Conscience of American Christianity”
Rethinking the Rainbow: What I Learned About Queer Pride by Leaving Christianity
“Wow, that sounds a lot like coming out!” Recently, while sharing the story of my deconversion from Christianity, I received this same response from two friends – one straight, the other queer. Both of them recognized similarities between the struggles I faced as an apostate and the hardships encountered by queer people embracing their sexuality.Continue reading “Rethinking the Rainbow: What I Learned About Queer Pride by Leaving Christianity”
The Child in the Library: My Spiritual Deconstruction
I never expected to write this post. When I started the blog that became wordsforwayfarers.com several years ago, I saw my writing as a kind of ministry. By exploring echoes of the Christian message in contemporary books, movies, songs, and albums, I hoped to demonstrate the relevance of Christianity to all of life. Many ofContinue reading “The Child in the Library: My Spiritual Deconstruction”
Into the Wild: An Invitation to My 2024 Artistic Journey
Two days ago, I braved icy winds and traveled by train and foot to the Music Box Theater in north Chicago, eager to watch Andrew Haigh’s new film, All of Us Strangers. It’s a bizarre, lyrical, and devastating story, impossible to categorize and easily one of my favorite films of the year. I expect I’llContinue reading “Into the Wild: An Invitation to My 2024 Artistic Journey”
Words for Wayfarers 