Donald Trump’s return to the White House is “the absolute worst case scenario,” according to religion scholar Matthew Taylor. “We’re in an epochal shift in American history of the worst sort, and while it does not spell the absolute end…
Take America backward
The last time this happened, I met with two other ministers in a bottle shop. The owner opened up early for us. We filed in with bags under our eyes, proof we stayed awake too late watching news outlets and…
How to talk to your children about hard things in difficult times
As I drove my children to school the day after the election, my middle school daughter began to ask questions. Days, weeks and months leading up to the election, there were questions from both of my daughters. They could see…
Trying to make sense of nonsense
As I reflect on Donald Trump being elected to a second term as president, I sit here at a Cracker Barrel in the Louisville, Ky., area with a mixture of country and contemporary Christian music playing in the background. Patriotic…
American Jews favored Harris over Trump, don’t support Netanyahu either
While American evangelicals formed the base of Donald Trump’s political comeback, he was soundly rejected by American Jews, according to a new national survey. Not only that, American Jews overwhelmingly oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of…
Truth, consequences and a suggested response
The January 1969 issue of Playboy magazine included an essay from a prominent American theologian that contained the following haunting words. Why is the issue of equality still so far from solution in America, a nation that professes itself to be democratic,…
Amid jubilation over Trump victory, a call to rewrite history at the Smithsonian
Southern Baptist leaders and many other evangelical leaders expressed jubilation at Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race, while one podcaster said it’s time to revise the exhibits at the Smithsonian to reflect a different worldview. Josh Daws, a Southern…
Social justice groups are exhausted, angry and determined
Among social justice advocates, reaction to Donald Trump’s election victory included sheer exhaustion, anger and renewed determination to continue the struggle for religious freedom, racial justice, LGBTQ rights and compassionate immigration reform. For Jacqueline Lewis, it was pretty much all…
The mysteries of the Latino vote for Trump
I’m furious at white evangelicals today, and especially at my white evangelical neighbors. A little over a month ago, Hurricane Helene left our neighborhood looking like a disaster zone. To this day, we still have large trees down in our yards and…
Letter to my Black daughter on the 2024 election
Zyan, you haven’t gotten home yet from school, but there are tears running down my eyes as I hear Vice President Harris in the background conceding the election. This morning when you went to school, I could tell in your…
Dear Democrats, you neglected the poor
“Madame Vice President, I’m speaking.” This was the stunning message the majority of the American electorate sent Kamala Harris and her Democratic coalition in unmistakably clear terms this week. As other commentators have noted, Donald Trump’s victory in this year’s…
Standing on the precipice
When you read this opinion piece, the presidential election of 2024 will be finished, if not finally decided. It seems to me the election will determine whether the Seven Deadly Sins or the Seven Classical Virtues will be ascendant in…