Who is a Christian nationalist? And should some people be proud to be called such a name? I, like a majority of BNG readers, am convinced Christian nationalists are a threat to democracy. I have been listening to them make…
You don’t have to demonize us just because we’ve left the faith as you believe it
One of the most dismissive and hurtful statements ex-evangelicals hear from our conservative evangelical family and friends after we deconstruct their walls is: “You must have never been saved to begin with.” Another way they say it is, “You must…
When Harry Truman attended a prayer meeting in Harlem
Saturday, October 29. The 1948 presidential campaign was almost over; only Saturday and Monday remained because Harry S. Truman never campaigned on Sunday; he took seriously, “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.” Up to that point in the…
Retributive theology opened the door to growth of the prosperity gospel today
Is it any wonder that the two most influential definitions of the “good news” in a Western society built on capitalism and retribution would be about people getting paid or being punished? In conservative evangelicalism, we see a heavy emphasis…
New speaker of the House once led never-opened Paul Pressler School of Law
After three weeks of chaos, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives finally elected a new speaker — Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District. While Johnson has served in Congress since 2017, and most recently held the position…
This school shooter is going viral for telling his story, but does it help or hurt?
Note: This article discusses attempted suicide, suicidal ideation and gun violence. In the life of a school shooter, what happens almost 20 years after the crime? On Feb. 9, 2004, 16-year-old Jon Romano left a suicide note at home before…
‘The moment we allow our hearts to go numb to the deaths of any children is the moment we shut down our humanity’
As someone whose ancestors immigrated to the United States from Lebanon, the faces of children suffering in the war in Israel remind me of my own children. The limp body of a 5-year-old girl being carried through the rubble, and…
Now comes the darkness. Perhaps new hope lies beyond
A week ago, I sat with a Palestinian shopkeeper in a country bordering Israel, drinking tea and watching nonstop Arab TV coverage of Israel’s retaliatory pounding of Gaza. Gazans ran in panic. Rescue workers screamed for ambulances and pulled dust-covered…
My heart and my mind are in conflict about Israel and Hamas
The unexpected Hamas incursion into Israel, and the resultant deaths that are yet occurring, bring to mind our own experience of 9/11. The rhetorical choices made after 9/11 included labeling the attackers as “terrorists” rather than “criminals,” designating 9/11 as…