The fall of ancient Israel began almost before it rose — when the people demanded of Samuel, “Give us a king to lead us.” You can read the whole, sorry story in 1 Samuel 8. The aging prophet who had…
RBG: Defender of equality, principled dissenter, faithful supporter of religious liberty
The news of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death on Friday felt like a kick in the gut. Although she was 87 years old and had survived several bouts of cancer, her death still came as a sudden…
Do Southern Baptists need a rebranding?
In the midst of a turbulent summer of police violence against Black Americans, the pressure for institutional fixtures of American society to examine the legacies of their names never has been greater. Now the Southern Baptist Convention, according to the…
A primer for non-Methodists on the Methodist ties that bind
Divorce is never easy. Even in the most amicable partings, the division of assets causes more contention than any other irreconcilable differences. In the case of United Methodists, breaking up may be even harder to do because of the structural…
Understanding the gray/green divide in American church life
While electoral maps in the United States are often colored red and blue, aerial imagery of the country suggests that the real colors of our political spectrum are gray and green. From the gray, concrete landscapes of urban America to…
This year’s tug of war over the Catholic vote and why it matters
Much has been written about evangelical Christian support for President Donald Trump — believed to be a key to his election in 2016 — but attention this year is turning also to the Catholic vote as a pivotal bloc. Joe…
Baptist Calvinists defend slavery of Southern Seminary founders
As some Black Southern Baptists urge their denomination’s flagship seminary to remove honors to enslavers, prominent white Calvinists associated with the school are defending not only the founders but even slavery.
Secret police then, secret police now
It is always interesting to me, in my role as assistant professor of New Testament and Greek, to point out variations in translations to students while asking them why some translators make the decisions they make. And as someone who…
My journey through purity culture and Christian worship music
The year was 1993. I was a sweaty junior high kid who had recently gotten my first stick of deodorant and had begun experiencing sensations in my body that felt both good and confusing. But one night, as my brothers…