The year conservatives consolidated control of the Southern Baptist Convention is the last year a key marker of denominational growth showed an overall upward trend, according to new annual data released by Lifeway Christian Resources. Even a slight rebound in…
Historian shows how America became Israel’s best friend and biggest defender
Ever since Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis more than 100 days ago, Israel has relied on America, its best friend and biggest defender. If you want to understand how that came to be the case, check out On the Road…
More thoughts on Mary breastfeeding, hierarchy and ‘kin-dom’ versus ‘kingdom’
Peel back the layers of our modern-day debate over the role of women in the church and you’ll find the underlying stumbling block has to do with hierarchy and bodies. BNG ran an Advent series written by Julia Goldie Day…
Who are the Houthi?
In the last couple of weeks, one word or phrase that has been serially mentioned in the media is the Houthi, a Yemeni militant group. Most Americans — distracted by the war in Gaza — know little about this other…
As MAGA pastors gain influence, let’s talk about peace instead of power
“Kind of disturbing” is how journalist Katie Couric described an Axios piece about how Donald Trump built an insurmountable lead in Monday’s Iowa caucus by catering to evangelical MAGA pastors. “They say obviously they embrace Trump because of the Supreme Court justices who helped…
CRT is a useful tool in analyzing Southern Baptist history on race
In 1980, legal scholar and critical race theorist Derrick Bell penned his pioneering article, “Brown v. Board of Education and the Interest-Convergence Dilemma” in Harvard Law Review. In it, Bell tackled a controversial and difficult question: In the wake of…
Iowa and the zombie myth about white evangelical support for Trump
Heading into the Iowa caucuses, the Republican presidential candidate standings looked to be as frozen as the snow-covered ground. The last results from the storied Iowa Poll, conducted by J. Ann Selzer from Jan. 7 to 12, showed Donald Trump with…
Dixie’s Daughters, the Lost Cause and the roots of white Christian nationalism
Did you grow up hearing the Civil War was fought over states’ rights, not slavery? And how was the war referred to? Civil War? War Between the States? The War of Northern Aggression? Then you were exposed to the Lost…
New history sees CCM as a ‘soundtrack’ for white evangelicalism
“What can one learn about the development of evangelicalism by looking at CCM, one of the largest, most profitable forms of mass media produced in the 20th century?” asks Leah Payne in her new book, God Gave Rock and Roll…
Are we in the Lord’s army? Crusading mentality persists from medieval times to today
Centuries after the Crusades, many American Christians still feel the urge to fight for power, control and dominion over what they believe is God’s country. But with a Constitution that protects religious freedom, what are modern crusaders really fighting for?…
Jesus Christ is under attack
In a recent editorial for Baptist Press, professors Malcolm Yarnell and Steve McKinion presented a candid assessment of the theological landscape within their midst: “We believe the greatest challenge facing Southern Baptists today comes not from confusion over church offices…
Sen. Tuberville and the ‘cleaners’ of American racism
The 1984 film Pulp Fiction features Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolfe, a fixer and cleaner. A fixer is a person who disposes of bodies; one who “cleans up” physical evidence of crime is also more specifically called a cleaner. America has a…