On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I offer once again some reflections I wrote on the fifth anniversary for a course on Catholic social thought using fundamental theological concepts of German Catholic theologian Johann Baptist Metz. For part one of “’We Will Never Forget’”: Metz, Memory, and the Dangerous Spirituality of Post-9/11 America,” click here. [...]

My essay “Destructive Obedience: U.S. Military Training and Culture as a Parody of Christian Discipleship,” has (finally!) appeared in the latest issue of The Conrad Grebel Review 29.2 (Spring 2011): 4–30. A PDF of the essay is here. And here is an abstract: Using the theme of “discipleship” found in the witness of the peace churches [...]

It is crucial to understand that while the military makes much of team cohesion, and plays heavily on the human desire to belong, its ultimate purpose is the calculated killing of other human beings. Buried under the lofty goals of self-sacrifice and denial for the good of the whole, the noble end of training is [...]

That time of year again. Here, again, is one of my most-read and most-commented-upon posts: a critique of Christian celebration of Memorial Day. I still agree with my conclusions. If I were to rewrite the piece today, I would make several changes. For one thing, I would adjust the “Hauerwasian” tone of the post as [...]

Two blog posts by different authors on the same blog on the same day. Both are about boundaries between human beings. The first is a predictable glorification of imperial boundary-making. The author enthusiastically passes along yet another artifact from u.s. american civil religion, this time a hymn to that personification of the nation-state, Uncle Sam. [...]