The storming of the American Capitol on Jan. 6 — with its profusion of Bibles, crosses and other Christian symbols — placed a gigantic exclamation point on the unease American Christians always have felt with the First Amendment to the…
Interdenominational panel warns of extreme danger of Christian nationalism
Christian nationalism represents a severe and present danger to American democracy, according to religious leaders affiliated with the group Christians Against Christian Nationalism. People of faith must educate themselves about the movement, positively engage its adherents and pursue lives modeled…
What does Pelagius have to do with Josh Hawley and white nationalism?
An old idiom, usually attributed to Oscar Wilde, says that irony is wasted on stupid people. But not everyone who fails to appreciate irony is a mindless dolt. Some of them are quite clever, aiming their malformed wit in the…
Insurrection postscript: The church’s one foundation isn’t the USA
On Jan. 6, as our family watched in real time, thousands of insurrectionists took over the U.S. Capitol, and the words of two 17th century Colonial Americans raced across my memory. Governor John Winthrop, arriving at Massachusetts Bay on the…
At 18,000 words, new survey report covers the waterfront on faith, culture and politics
If you just can’t get enough of surveys and polls during this election season, the research firm PRRI has good news for you: They’ve just completed an omnibus survey of the American electorate with more data than you can possibly…
Who knew ‘unalienable rights’ could undermine life, liberty and true happiness?
Like a stool with uneven legs, distorted interpretations of Americans’ “unalienable rights” provide a precarious perch in perilous times. The Declaration of Independence proclaims: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are…
Fundamentalists have a problem with Jesus
When Mike Pence substituted the American flag for Jesus in his speech during last week’s Republican National Convention, he continued a long tradition of American fundamentalist Christianity, which seems to have a problem with Jesus. Pence did not misspeak. His…
Christians, we have an older glory
“Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents …, let’s fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith and freedom, and never forget that, ‘where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,’…
Christian nationalism provides cover for white supremacy, BJC leader says
Christian nationalism provides cover for white supremacy, and both must be stopped by Christians concerned about religious freedom, Amanda Tyler said at the National Press Club June 26.
Amid this pandemic, we need prophets like Daniel to decipher the handwriting on our wall | #intimeslikethese
The coronavirus pandemic, like the handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5, has interrupted our nation’s imperialist and idolatrous banquet of materialism, racism, white religious nationalism and militarism that Martin Luther King Jr. prophetically identified as lethal threats to the country and the world.
The looming prophetic crisis and the urgency for truth-telling
Truth-telling is a moral imperative no matter who may resent hearing the truth, no matter who may refuse to believe the truth and no matter what people who oppose the truth may do to truth-tellers.
This is how despotism works – enabled by conservative white evangelicals and Christian nationalism
Who are the people, of whatever faith or no faith, who will stand up to Trump’s despotism and to white Christian nationalism – and to the political opportunists and free market capitalists who support both?