Listening to a Trump rally speech is like driving in a major city with no traffic lights, stop signs, cautions or rules. “Hammer down, pedal to the metal,” demolition derby from start to finish. Trump, long a master of not…
A tale of two rallies on the same day in North Carolina
The juxtaposition of experiencing the “Kingdom to the Capitol” tour followed by the “Faith and Democracy” tour in North Carolina on Sunday was a contrast in theology and politics that demonstrates the fracturing of American Christianity unlike any pairing of…
Why Trump’s pledge of free IVF for anyone divides his own party
Donald Trump’s recent announcement that, if sent back to the White House, either the government or insurance companies would pay for IVF “for all Americans that get it, all Americans that need it,” was greeted with a mixture of surprise…
30 years ago, we warned Southern Baptists about rising Calvinism
Thirty years ago next month, Marv Knox and I warned Southern Baptists about the rising influence of Neo-Calvinism in their ranks. To most, this was shocking news at the time. Our words were more prophetic than we possibly could have…
When white male pastors challenge Black female leaders
Supporters of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists expressed surprise and shock when leaders of the American Baptist Churches in the USA recently sent a cease-and-desist letter asking to be removed as a “partner” on AWAB’s website. The original…
Now they’re going after Bluey for being woke
“We can’t know whether Bluey will one day go the woke way of Peppa,” The Gospel Coalition’s Brett McCracken wrote two years ago in response to the cartoon Peppa Pig introducing “a character with ‘two mummies.’” According to McCracken, “Pressure is immense and relentless for…
What a debater thought about the vice presidential debate
Debates always get my attention. I was a high school and college debate student. I have studied argumentation for decades. While the format of the political debates is artificial and not really an actual debate, I will take what I…
Matthew Taylor’s new book explores how ‘the fringe became the carpet’
Matthew Taylor’s timely and disturbing new book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy, explores the politicization of America’s independent charismatics and neo-Pentecostals and the resulting “charismaticization of right-wing politics.” Taylor bids farewell to…
One nation under God: How liberal religion dominated mid-century America
In the decade following the Second World War, the United States experienced an unprecedented religious revival. In 1958, more than 50% of Americans claimed to have attended a worship service in the previous week. By every conventional measure, the nation…