Joshua Gibbs

The Consolation Of Bad Reviews

When one of my books gets a two star review on Goodreads, I generally check the user’s other ratings and it’s usually a consolation to find they have given five star reviews for Glennon Doyle, Jen Hatmaker, and Karen Armstrong books.

Ted Lasso’s Secret? He’s An Evangelical

Ted Lasso only makes sense as an evangelical, though the writers of the show refuse to admit it. It’s not just the blend of optimism and humility which make him an evangelical (not just generically Christian, but Midwestern evangelical in particular), but the fact he is obviously patterned after the most famous Christian television characterContinue reading “Ted Lasso’s Secret? He’s An Evangelical”

Worse Than Profanity

We would be better off without the word “toxic.”

On Getting COVID And Losing My Sense Of Taste And Smell

“After testing positive for COVID last week, I entirely lost my sense of smell and my sense of taste. The symptoms which prompted me to get tested were too mild to even mention, but when I tasted my coffee the following morning and found it as odorless and tasteless as tap water, my first thought was,Continue reading “On Getting COVID And Losing My Sense Of Taste And Smell”

Proverbial, Episode 70: Prometheus

A new episode of Proverbial is available today. The new show unpacks, “God doesn’t give with both hands,” a hard saying to be sure.

Talking With My 12-Year-Old Daughter About The Rich

“Camilla: Is it good to be cosmopolitan? Gibbs: Being cosmopolitan will not save your soul, but it is good that some people are cosmopolitan. In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Edmund Burke says it is good for the church to have a few wealthy, well-travelled bishops. Cosmopolitan bishops are easier for rich people to respect,Continue reading “Talking With My 12-Year-Old Daughter About The Rich”

How To Tell If Students At A Private School Have Access To Drugs

Q: Do the students at a certain private school have access to drugs? A: Do any of the students at this school work at a pizza restaurant?

Two Kinds Of Originality

Student: Don’t you find completely derivative art pointless and dull, though? Gibbs: Most derivative art is dull because it aims to be wildly original. The sort of people who make originality a top priority are dull because they draw from a laughably small pool of influences. These days, every “wildly original” artist is either imitatingContinue reading “Two Kinds Of Originality”

Heavy Rotation: Agnes Obel

The best LateNightTales compilation since Air’s 2006 mix.

On Human Beauty

“Our perspective on human Beauty is skewed by the glut of the Beautiful involved in the entertainment industry; when we think of human Beauty, we do not think of Helen of Troy or King David, but Heidi Klum. The sultry photographed faces gazing at us from the Victoria’s Secret show window have sullied the reputationContinue reading “On Human Beauty”