In the Christian calendar, the new year begins with the first Sunday of Advent. That is the Sunday just past. Happy Christian New Year, everyone! If one is thinking in terms of the Christian calendar, then, the new year began…
City of the living, city of the dead: From Vilnius to Israel/Palestine
I spent the last weekend of October exploring the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania. I was in that grand 700-year-old city for speaking appearances and to visit friends. My dear wife, Jeanie, came with me. Tuesday, Oct. 31, was free,…
My argument in Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies
This week, my new book, Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies, officially releases. I am told that even before its release, it exceeded the publisher’s sales expectations for one full year. I am grateful for the high interest in the…
Post-evangelical snapshots
Everywhere I go, I meet a surging community of post-evangelicals. I would like to offer readers a few snapshots from half a year of travel. Little Rock, March 30: I speak to the annual NASW social workers conference in downtown….
Erasmus indicts Trump — and the USA
One thing that has gone tragically wrong with American politics over the past eight years is that the electorate has admitted into the highest reaches of national life a man obviously lacking in the moral temperament, training and character required…
Thoughts about the art and craft of teaching
This week I begin my 31st year of full-time teaching in the field of Christian ethics. In this post I want to think aloud about the art and craft of teaching. I believe the magic in teaching — at least…
Preserving a sense of the ultimate
I want to make the modest proposal that there is a dimension of religion, including Christianity, that properly transcends world affairs to focus on the state of individual character and the health of the soul. I speak of the inner…
An interview with Kelsey Morrison, evangelical academia’s latest homophobia victim
On June 2, soccer coach Kelsey Morrison was fired and immediately escorted from the campus of Geneva College, an evangelical school near Pittsburgh. Her offense was two posts on Instagram. In this exclusive interview with me for Baptist News Global,…
Lessons from Cicero on America’s 247th birthday
I am reading the Roman statesman-philosopher Cicero these days. You might ask why in the world that dusty old personage should be occupying my thoughts. The answer is that, as part of the preparation of my new book on democracy,…