In a further sign of change at Christianity Today, one of the magazine’s best-known writers and editors has resigned, saying he has “significant disagreements with the new leadership, both practical and philosophical.”
Senior News Editor Daniel Silliman posted news of his departure on Facebook Nov. 14. He has worked with the flagship magazine of American evangelicalism since 2019.
The new leadership is newly named Editor in Chief Marvin Olasky, who replaced Russell Moore as the publishing powerhouse faced continued challenges from the evangelical right who believes the magazine has become too “woke.”
Silliman, a 2005 graduate of the extremely conservative Hillsdale College, is best known for his high-profile investigative work on the Ravi Zacharias scandal and nuanced reporting on the Asbury revival.
He became a target of the far right this spring when he wrote an article addressing some academic claims that Jesus would have been affixed to the Cross with ropes, not nails. Although Silliman assured readers that was not his view, the mere mention of the idea stirred opposition from biblical inerrantists.
In the age of Donald Trump, Christianity Today has been viewed by MAGA evangelicals as too liberal and woke.
The reaction was so severe that Silliman published an apology online. “My article implicitly called into question the inerrancy of Scripture. In my eagerness to explore the historical context of Christ’s death, I missed that, and I’m sorry,” he said.
In the age of Donald Trump, Christianity Today has been viewed by MAGA evangelicals as too liberal and woke.
Former Editor Mark Galli (2015 to 2020) left after writing an editorial saying then-President Donald Trump was “grossly immoral” and unfit for office. After a one-year interim as editor by Daniel M. Harrell, the magazine named another evangelical never-Trumper, Russell Moore, as editor.
In September this year, Moore transitioned to the role of editor-at-large and columnist and was replaced as editor-in-chief by Olasky, the 75-year-old former editor of World magazine known for championing a form of “biblical worldview” journalism. Ironically, Olasky was forced out at World for writing that Trump was “unfit for power” on biblical criteria.
Olasky’s approach to journalism is a departure for Christianity Today, which has taken a more traditional approach to news reporting while espousing a conservative editorial policy.
Silliman has personified that approach.
In his Facebook post, Silliman said: “For six years I got to report on the church and write the first draft of evangelical history. I’m so grateful and proud of that work and honored I got to work with the people I worked with. But seasons change. … It’s time for me to go.”
Silliman declined to comment further when contacted by Baptist News Global.
Silliman’s body of work often involved deep investigative reporting. He co-authored a 2021 story with Kate Shellnutt that detailed the extent of evangelist Ravi Zacharias’s sexual misconduct, including the discovery of hundreds of hidden photos of women. Silliman also is the author of multiple books, including One Lost Soul, a highly acclaimed theological and spiritual biography of former U.S. President Richard Nixon.
After studying philosophy at Hillsdale College, Silliman earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Heidelberg, where he also was a lecturer. Then he worked on American studies at the University of Tuebingen. He later was postdoctoral fellow at the University of Notre Dame and a Lilly Fellow at Valparaiso University.
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