It's been fun to read people's lists of posts from 2018. Whether it's Challies' top Christian blogs and bloggers of the year or David Brooks' Sidney awards, Part 1 & Part 2, this is a great time of the year to catch up on - or remember - everything that's happened. This has been one crazy year.
Politics has been the overwhelming topic of 2018, and I wonder sometimes, what will be remembered from this era in American history? Which essays, articles, and op-eds will embody the spirit of this moment. If I'm honest, I don't think much of it will survive - reactionary content doesn't age very well. I've come across a few really thoughtful, insightful pieces, and I've tried to stay off the beaten path. Hopefully there are a few new finds for you among this list.
First, David Brooks' article "Donald Trump's Lizard Wisdom" comes as close to summarizing the President's foreign policy as anything I've seen. The Washington Examiner's wrap-up, "What Does It Mean to Be a Conservative in the Age of Trump" is an excellent pulse on the conservative world, including short essays from Larry Arnn, David French, Erick Erickson and others. Tim Keller's post, "How Do Christians Fit Into the Two Party System?" is excellent, even if he doesn't provide any hard and fast solutions.
My favorite genre this year has been culture. There have been some really fantastic and enjoyable reads published in 2018. First, Deborah Savage's essay, "Reflections on the Revolution," in First Things is one of the best things I've ever read on cultivating a distinctly Christian view of sexuality, especially as it pertains to Christian women. "The Preachers of the Great Awokening" by the Winegard brothers at Quillette changed the way I thought about privilege, discussions of race, and virtue signaling. Last, I'm struck by the evolution of our "third spaces" in the last few decades. Where do you go and what do you do when you aren't at work and you aren't at home? "What Cafe's Did For Liberalism" by Adam Gopnik in the New Yorker is as insightful as it is enjoyable. His article on Frederick Douglass was excellent as well.
For fun, check out "All the Ways James Harden Can Make You Foul Him," over at the Ringer, Bruce Handy's profile of Steve Carell at Esquire, and one of my favorite reads in any category this year, "The Steward of Middle Earth," by Hannah Long. If you want to listen instead of read, Doris Kearns Goodwin's interview with Lloyd Blankfein on the Talks at Goldman Sachs podcast was phenomenal.
We've also had a lot of great content on our site this year. Here's a list of the top posts at So We Speak:
Top Posts of 2018:
Top 5 Podcast Episodes of 2018:
Thanks for reading and listening this year!
Join our team by supporting the mission of So We Speak! In 2019, we're going to continue to speak what we believe, we're going to bring Christian voices into the public square, and we're going to equip believers to think like Christians. And we're offering everything for free!
Help us continue to provide great content by making a year-end donation!
“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4
Cole Feix is the President of So We Speak and a regular writer. Follow him on Twitter, @cfeix7.