Blog – Beyond The Pale

“America: The House Always Wins” Why Trump’s Gamble to Overturn the International Order is a Fool’s Errand

By Steve on April 18, 2025

Back in 2012 I was walking the Wainwright Coast to Coast trail across England with my then 14 year old son. The night before we finished, we found ourselves in a quaint English pub with…

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A More Compassionate Christianity

By Steve on August 4, 2024

Jesus said the defining characteristic that would mark his followers would be the love they show for those around them… … so you’d think after 2,000 years of practice, Christians would be renowned for the…

Deconstruction is just Spiritual Puberty: And Why Many Churches Act As Puberty Blockers

By Steve on May 6, 2024

Deconstruction is just Spiritual Puberty by Beyond the Pale And Why Many Churches Act As Puberty Blockers Read on Substack I just became the father of a teenager (again) at the ripe old age of…

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“Oh My God”: Why (American) Christians Need to Stop Using The Lord’s Name in Vain

By Steve on April 16, 2022

“Oh my God” I remember saying as a young boy before being reprimanded by my Sunday School teacher for “saying the Lord’s name in vain.” Needless to say, the low level “cuss words” among my…

My Journey From Evangelical To Anglican

By Steve on July 22, 2021

Some years back a Presbyterian pastor asked me to lunch. Over the course of the meal, he informed me he intended to retire soon and asked if I would be interested in becoming the new…

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In Memoriam: Gary Hackman (July 16, 1941 – March 2, 2021)

By Steve on March 4, 2021

When I was about 19 yrs old I had left a friend’s house late after an evening of table top gaming. (Yes, I was a nerd long before it became trendy). I only had got…

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Post Ravi Zacharias: 3 Things the Church Must Change Now

By Steve on February 19, 2021

We’ve seen it before. The pastor caught up in an affair, the coverup, the payoff, and the inevitable public scandal that splits a megachurch or topples a global Christian ministry. Whether Carl Lentz, Bill Hybels,…

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When The Republicans Summoned “Beetlejuice”

By Steve on January 15, 2021

In the 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play Barbara & Adam Maitland, an idyllic couple living in their idyllic country home in Connecticut. Through a freak accident they die only to…

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October 5, 1990: The Day I Arrived in Hong Kong

By Steve on October 5, 2020

Today is the 30th anniversary of the day I arrived in Hong Kong. It was a Korean Airlines flight and because of my bargain basement discount ticket took me almost two days to make the…

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Trump: The Musical

By Steve on July 20, 2020

While watching the musical Hamilton last night and the wonderfully creative musical numbers that brought the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton to life, I began musing what would it look like if a similar…

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If Jesus “Saves” What Exactly Does He Save Us From?

By Steve on July 10, 2020

I recently received a message from Louise who had read my blog article 3 Reasons Jesus is Not my Personal Lord & Savior and then went on to write and ask me the following questions:…

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Why Many White Evangelicals Struggle with Black Lives Matter

By Steve on June 14, 2020

Protests ignited by the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement officials sweep across not only America, but many other countries around the planet. However even as the tragic event has…