Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito has penned, we now know, the draft of a Supreme Court decision that contains at its core a lie. He wrote: “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that…
A brief history of the Hateful Faithful threat to democracy through the Supreme Court
In the November 1980 U.S. presidential election, Ronald Reagan defeated President Jimmy Carter thanks to votes from white conservatives who called themselves evangelical Christians. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Phyliss Schlafly, James Robison and a host of other white…
Gov. DeSantis should learn a lesson from Southern Baptists about taking on Disney
Offering advice to politicians and preachers may be a disappointing way to make a living. This didn’t stop Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne from warning, “Religious people should always be wary of the ways in which political power is wielded…
Why I’m a pro-choice Christian and believe you should be too
The Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a leaked first draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito. As an early draft, this opinion is not an official decision from the court, and abortion remains…
‘Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be’
The clever saying “Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be,” while having been repeated in many similar iterations, is credited to a character named Uncle Joshua in The Tents of Wickedness, a novel by Peter De Vries written in 1959. The observation…
Gun control? Sure! Bullet control? Never heard of it!
Greta Adams (not her real name) lives in Philadelphia, the city in which her son was murdered. Most people may not care so much, but Greta cares about the stark, ugly truth that the city of Philadelphia is experiencing an…
If you’re glad women were the first Easter preachers, what are you doing about it now?
During Easter weekend this year, my social media feed was filled with posts about women preaching on the first Easter. The main theme of the posts was that if we want to be biblical, then women should be preaching the…
The Supreme Court’s politicized decision on abortion will do nothing to help churches thrive
As if the American church isn’t divided enough, it appears we’re about to roll back the clock 50 years on abortion rights and throw more jet fuel on the culture war bonfires consuming our congregations. For some churches and pastors,…
Alito and public opinion reveal the link between Roe and a broader white Christian nationalist agenda
Like many of you, I’m still taking in the bombshell news — broken by Politico Monday night — that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that affirmed a constitutional right…
A leak: The truth of a sick nation
The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That’s a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period…
The truth and nothing but the truth
I spoke for more than an hour and a half with a FOX News journalist yesterday. That interview ranged across Critical Race Theory, book banning and censorship, racism in American history, faith and spiritual practice, and what, at its best,…
Here’s how to make Mother’s Day more honest at church
As I sat around a table with a group of women, all of whom were either clergy or clergy wives, we began discussing the difficulties of creating a life around ministry. We all had different stories, different moments in our…