I’ll be processing this experience for a long time, but for now I'll share just a few key words that focused my thoughts during and after the trip.
Debra RienstraMarch 18, 2023
I want to focus on the power of meaning-making narratives. In the wearying events of the last few years, we’ve seen two tiny little denominations struggle to figure out (once again) what narrative we are living into. Is the future of our denominations a game…
Debra RienstraJuly 9, 2022
Earth: Look, I try not to pay much attention to human politics. I have so much to do, what with plate techtonics and weather systems and sustaining various kingdoms and phyla of creatures. Plus I operate on loooooong time scales, you know? Still, my current…
Debra RienstraNovember 14, 2020
What does a vote mean? What do we think it does? What is, you might say, our theory of voting? It seems to me that we Americans operate out of a variety of confused, mostly unconscious, somewhat conflicting theories.
Debra RienstraOctober 22, 2020
Our worry about fake news is more corrosive to our trust in media and in institutions than actual fake content has been. We wonder if we can trust anything we see.
Debra RienstraMarch 7, 2020
While I am normally happy to flop on the sofa and watch mindless TV on Friday nights, last night I pulled myself together and attended the 21st annual Paul B. Henry Lecture, sponsored by the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics. The lecture was a…
Debra RienstraApril 27, 2019
But perhaps individual virtue-modeling (what we used the call “the character question” in American politics) is not the only question. What if we also ask whether our leaders create an atmosphere that cultivates virtues?
Debra RienstraNovember 10, 2018
Shakespeare is right to show us that there is no guarantee of reward for choosing integrity and mercy. Over against the example of his sources, Shakespeare eschewed a reparative ending. In Shakespeare’s final scenes, the noble among the younger generation pay a heavy price for…
Debra RienstraSeptember 29, 2018
