What went around for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary three decades ago has come back around for Baylor University this fall. Woe be unto Baylor. In 1995, Southern Seminary’s newish president, Al Mohler — who publicly questioned the role of social…
Why Mohler is wrong about the ERLC
While it greatly pains me to contradict Southern Baptist Theological President Al Mohler, an evangelical and Southern Baptist leader I have held in highest esteem for most of my adult life, I feel compelled to offer a respectful rebuttal to…
‘As God is my witness,’ Mohler has changed his tune on ERLC
R. Albert Mohler Jr. has declared another holy war in the Southern Baptist Convention, as if the nation’s largest Protestant denomination needed more side skirmishes among its institutional leaders. In a recent wide-ranging and low-impact interview on the “Baptist21” podcast,…
Trump’s disruptions are ‘necessary for progress,’ Mohler tells The New Yorker
The disruptions created by President Donald Trump are necessary for “progress to be made toward correction,” Al Mohler told The New Yorker in an interview published April 1. The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., is one…
Marshall says ‘scandalous providence’ preserved her life’s work
When she was forced off the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and accused of heresy, Molly Marshall found “a scandalous providence preserved my vocation and my life’s work,” she recently recalled. Marshall, now president of United Theological Seminary of…
Mohler accuses Jimmy Carter of international crimes
One day after Jimmy Carter’s death, a prominent Southern Baptist theologian accused him of unspecified international crimes. Meanwhile, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Clint Pressley, offered a one-sentence summation of Carter’s death at age 100: “A remarkable man…
Jimmy Carter, a lifelong Baptist, left a legacy of faithfulness, compassion and justice
Baptist leaders are remembering President Jimmy Carter as a Christian example of faithfulness, compassion and justice — and as a staunch advocate of a traditional view of religious liberty. Carter, the nation’s 39th president, died Dec. 29 at age 100….
In three-hour interview, Mohler says he ‘hopes and prays’ Jimmy Carter is born again
Al Mohler has to “hope and pray” Jimmy Carter is a born-again Christian, he told a conservative podcaster in a wide-ranging interview. But the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary had no qualms about voting for Donald Trump for U.S….
A new Baptist’s reflections on BINOs
In September, I left the United Methodist Church for an Alliance of Baptists congregation. While I hold a master of divinity degree and knew the broad strokes of Baptist history and have worked alongside Baptists for several years, I didn’t…
How Christian extremists are co-opting the book of Esther
I first became aware of far-right Christians co-opting the Book of Esther for political ends when I heard the extremist group Moms for Liberty use Esther 4:14 as its slogan. Since then, the phrase “for such a time as this”…
Jesus Christ is (still) under attack
Our Lord seemingly can’t catch the proverbial break from certain evangelical theologians these days, and it doesn’t seem he’ll be getting one anytime soon. Nearly a year after my initial piece on attempts to diminish Jesus Christ’s divinity, power and…
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…