Immediately after the horrific assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, some people of faith began claiming God protected him. For example, Franklin Graham unequivocally pronounced, “God spared his life.” But that popular affirmation raises difficult questions, which even Graham…
Franklin Graham is the poster child for Christian nationalism — and he’s a liar
To understand the insidious nature of Christian nationalism, look no further than Franklin Graham’s appearance at the Republican National Convention last night. Graham already has demonstrated he knows no shame in endorsing, blessing and lionizing the most corrupt president in…
On being a post-evangelical, ecumenical church in the Baptist tradition
Now that headline is a mouthful, but it feels like a way forward for congregational life today. That may be too many labels. The story is told of a rancher in Texas showing a friend his huge spread which combined…
Geezers vs. youngsters: The battle heats up
Joe Biden, 81 and alarmingly feeble, refuses, at least for the moment, to pass the torch of presidential leadership to a younger Democrat. Meanwhile, the possible reelection of convicted felon Donald Trump, 78 and barely rational, looms like a doomsday…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Charlie Bell
Earlier this year, I had the great opportunity to get to know Charlie Bell, who is a forensic psychiatrist, the John Marks Fellow at Girton College Cambridge, a priest in the Church of England, and scholar in residence at the…
‘You can’t forget history you never knew’
On July 2, I was on a Zoom gathering for a discussion of the new book by Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood: Baptizing America, How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism. During the discussion, one of the authors observed that…
How Zionism poisoned Western Christianity
As a Semitic Palestinian Christian, I am deeply troubled by the pernicious influence of Zionist ideology on Western Christian theology. This ideology has ensnared many Western Christians, who cynically leverage the suffering of the Jewish people, especially during the Holocaust,…
Must our quests for liberty be mutually exclusive?
There’s a strange tension in the minds of many people between the desires for independence and community. It comes up often in conversations about churches and denominations. A church may want to be independent yet participate in the community of…
The GOAT in religion
Americans love greatness. We love great wealth, great success, great possessions, great entertainers, great CEOs, great athletes. I’m old enough to remember when Muhammad Ali declared, “I am the greatest.” And in the world of boxing, he likely was. We…
We can’t let political violence be used to silence concerns about rising political violence
On the flight home from our family vacation on Saturday, my phone lit up with messages about the horrific and thankfully unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at his rally in rural Pennsylvania. In the wake of that awful event,…
The kids are not all right
A 20-year old tried to assassinate a presidential candidate this weekend. Now I know that, technically, we consider 20-year-olds adults. But I teach 20-year-olds. I know they’re still somewhere between childhood and adulthood, their brains not yet fully formed. But…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Grace Ji-Sun Kim
Grace Ji-Sun Kim is professor of theology at Earlham School of Religion, host of the Madang Podcast, an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a prolific and much-respected author and public theologian. Her most recent book is When…