Words have wings and fly where they please. Words provide unconscious but sometimes deadly after-effects the speaker can’t control. Most recently, Congress has censured Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for his depiction of violent acts against other members of Congress and…
The Way Down is about the weight of power being wielded by a hierarchical God
It was an overcast morning near Smyrna, Tenn., as a small Cessna private jet abruptly descended toward the earth. Seven people on board, who had been looking forward to a trip to Palm Beach, Fla., were now taking their final…
World magazine editor quits as Mohler takes lead on adding opinion content to a uniquely reporting-centric publication
In the ethos of the new evangelical Republican Party, hosting an event at Mar-a-Lago that honors LGBTQ persons within the party is intolerable, but supporting a president who advises men interacting with women to “grab ’em by the pussy” is…
The white evangelical war on truth
“What is truth?” was Pontius Pilate’s cynical retort to Jesus as he presided over his trial and ordered his execution. Pilate’s rhetorical question was proceeded by Jesus stating: “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I…
Putting the white in witness since the 1940s
Now is the time to bring our conversation about whiteness and world-viewing into the present tense. The language and concept of worldviews are somewhat clear in many corners of evangelicalism today, but how does whiteness figure into these concepts? And…
How does the period before the Civil War resemble our current social climate?
Taking lessons from history can be challenging. History is not static. It is not one thing, and historians are constantly revising and changing their interpretations and frameworks for thinking about the past. It may not be helpful to compare the…
Why is there a boom in enrollment at private Christian schools? Here’s one critical theory: Race
The New York Times headline, “Christian Schools Boom in a Revolt Against Curriculum and Pandemic Rules,” begs the question “Why?” “Why are Christian schools growing? Before addressing this thematic question, there is a definitional concern that needs attention. The secular…
The church is losing its way
Statistics for 2021 from across multiple Christian denominations reveal a decrease in church membership and active participation, according to the parachurch organization Exponential and the Pew Research Center. This decline can be attributed, in large part, to the increasing number…
In South Africa, an unholy trinity — televangelists, TV stations and cellular companies
In South Africa, free analog-broadcast community television stations whose programming caters to low-income majority Black townships are broke. To keep the lights on, they take advertising money from startup Pentecostal pastors who promise bewildering “miracles” and changes of fortune for…
Understanding the evangelical civil war
According to Peter Wehner, “the evangelical church is breaking apart.” The primary culprit, he says, is Donald Trump. In a feature-length piece in The Atlantic, Wehner acknowledges the historic tensions within the evangelical camp but argues that the advent of…
The U.S. wealth gap presents both a political challenge and a spiritual problem
In November 2012, a YouTube user known as “politizane” created a viral video about wealth inequality in America that animates research conducted by Dan Ariely and Michael L. Norton using a series of graphs produced by Mother Jones magazine. Ariely…
How the SBC employs the Sodom Strategy to avoid talking about real sexual abuse
Growing up in the Atlanta suburbs during the 1990s, I roamed about with much greater freedom than 9- and 10-year-olds enjoy today. But each time my mother released my sister and me to gallivant unsupervised around the mall or Six…