The Spanish called it El Malpais, the badlands where the tranquil veneer of the earth’s crust peeled away and lava poured over 100,000 acres of this basin. The most recent lava flow was less than four thousand years ago. There…
Author Archive for admin
Books, Film, Reviews, Scholarship, zFeatured
The Ratliff Family and the Valley of Virginia
by admin •
A central feature of Virginia’s colonial backcountry was the Great Wagon Road. Imagine water pouring from a pitcher, arcing as gravity pulls the liquid down into a glass. In a similar way, Scotch-Irish, German and English settlers poured down…
Books, Scholarship, zFeatured
What’s in a name? Radcliffes and Ratliffs in England…
by admin •
At the time of writing, Great Britain is mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II. It seems like a good time to take stock of family connections across the pond. Specifically, the origins of the name and the family in England. Most Ratliff histories…
Books, Film, Scholarship, zFeatured
Lost in the Woods
by admin •
by Walter Ratliff On a hot summer day in June 1996, I set out to cover a story in a remote part of New Mexico’s Gila National Forest. Hours later I found myself face down on the trail, consciousness fading.…
Books, Press, zFeatured
Wheaton Magazine’s “Truth-Telling and Inquiry” Q&A
by admin •
Wheaton, the alumni magazine for Wheaton College, recently posted an article about its former students working in the field of journalism. Wheaton is an evangelical liberal arts college and graduate school in the suburbs of Chicago. I completed a master’s degree…
Books, Scholarship, zFeatured
New Book! Between Faith and Power: Religious Freedom as Dynamic Engagement
by admin •
My new book is out! I think you’ll find it lively, readable and compelling. In part one of the book, I take a “drive through history” with the major figures who helped define religious liberty as a human right. The second…
Film
A Sermon Containing Reflections on the Solar Eclipse
by admin •
Which Appeared on June 16, 1806 Delivered on the Lord’s Day Following By Joseph Lathrop, D. D. Pastor of the first Church in West-Springfield (Mass) AMOS 8:9 – It shall come to pass in that day; saith the Lord,…
zFeatured
Happy Birthday KLYT-FM!
by admin •
September 20, 2016 marks 40 years since KLYT-FM in Albuquerque, NM went on the air. It’s the station where I got my start in broadcasting, and it’s been an important part of the lives of its listeners for four decades.…
Scholarship
Religion and Modern Public Life
by admin •
Here is a recent essay that deals with my research and its place in the broader conversation about the role of religion in public life. It’s a bit of an update on my doctoral work at Georgetown as I move…
Scholarship
Coptic Evangelicals in Post-Revolution Egypt
by admin •
Prior to the Egyptian military’s coup d’état in July 2013, Coptic Evangelicals were faced with rising hostilities directed at the country’s ancient Christian community. This took place amid widespread unrest and a shattered economy. The Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS)…
