“She had it coming.” Those were the words a relative said to the television as the anchor finished his report some years ago about a sexual abuse football scandal at Baylor University. Tevin Elliot, Baylor’s star linebacker, had been accused…
The theology of a predator
“I ain’t gonna take the blame for no bastard child! It would ruin me, man. You can understand that, can’t you? Listen to me, boy. She was … delusional. She was crazy.” So goes the frantic defense of Rev. Preston…
Why Michael Tait’s apology is not enough
“I can do anything! Anything!” These are words posthumously ascribed to Russian mystic and claimed religious healer Grigori Rasputin. Their authenticity is debated by historians, but the dramatization of the real event did make for excellent television in the Netflix…
Evangelicals and the ‘born again’ myth
For the first time in my life, I got down on my knees without being told to do so. I really wanted to talk to God. ‘Lord, I don’t know what happened to me tonight,’ I prayed. ‘You know. And I thank…
It’s time for evangelicals to leave Anglicanism
“Don’t give me a jar of piss and then tell me it’s Memaw’s sweet tea.” My East Texas-raised father uttered these words when I tried to explain away my failing grade in freshman high school biology. I told him I…
ICE raids in churches violate conservative principles
The recent lawsuit filed by Quaker groups against the federal government highlights an issue on which conservatives seem increasingly prone to waffle: the sanctity of religious freedom and the protection of churches from government overreach. Conservatives often advocate for robust…
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…
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…
Blinded by their hatred of Biden, Arab voters cut off their noses to spite their faces
Polling data and widespread media coverage indicate the Biden-Harris Administration has a problem: Long a bastion of support and a key voting bloc for the Democratic Party, support among Arab-American voters for the party is the lowest since party identification…
Former seminary professor claims misrepresentation while government says his story keeps ‘evolving’
“When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!” So goes the old American proverb, also known as the “Law of Holes,” about making one’s situation worse when already in a difficult predicament that first appeared as an aphorism in…
Jesus Christ is under attack
In a recent editorial for Baptist Press, professors Malcolm Yarnell and Steve McKinion presented a candid assessment of the theological landscape within their midst: “We believe the greatest challenge facing Southern Baptists today comes not from confusion over church offices…
The Church of England’s compromise on same-sex relationships is disastrous for everyone
The Church of England’s formal separation from Rome five centuries ago began over a dispute about marriage. Now, it appears it will soon end as we know it over a dispute about marriage. Despite a busy news week that included…