Over the last decade, the so-called “MAGA” movement has infected nearly every aspect of American life, including Christianity. Evangelicals, Catholics and Orthodox Christians in the United States have been forced to endure what’s been dubbed the “Bro” movement — an…
Apocalypse? Now?
In November 1095, Pope Urban II addressed a gathering of clergy and laity at the Council of Clermont in France. According to the chronicler Fulcher of Chartres, Urban began: “Most beloved brethren: Urged by necessity, I, Urban, by the permission…
Tommy Tuberville versus the tenderness of true faith
Right-wing news outlet Newsmax reported Nov. 7 that, in reaction to Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama predicted the city will be “completely Muslim in three or four years.” I’m sure…
Senators clear the way for Hegseth’s Christian nationalist crusade
It’s hard to find strong enough adjectives to describe the unmitigated disaster the Senate hearing on the nomination of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense was. Even the few Republicans who had expressed previous concerns about his nomination handled him…
Are we in the Lord’s army? Crusading mentality persists from medieval times to today
Centuries after the Crusades, many American Christians still feel the urge to fight for power, control and dominion over what they believe is God’s country. But with a Constitution that protects religious freedom, what are modern crusaders really fighting for?…
The Medieval Crusades, Billy Graham and American evangelicals
My earliest encounter with the term “religious crusade” probably goes back to junior high history. Still, I don’t remember the term being used much other than when Billy Graham came to town. He went from city to city, holding “crusades.”…
Today’s evangelicals are medieval crusaders at heart
At the dawn of 2022, forget the culture wars; this is a postmodern crusade, and the Christian soldiers are on the march. Evangelical Christians are medieval crusaders at heart. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Christian Crusaders went to war…