The feud between the pope and the Trump administration over the justice of the Iran war may be the most important theological debate of my lifetime. It reveals the moral bankruptcy of the war, it illuminates the risks to our…
‘Your children will ask you’
“Your children will ask you what side you were on.” That’s what Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis, said at a news conference Jan. 24 after the shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE “officers.” Pretti, a…
Whatever This Is, It Isn’t Anti-Zionism
If you ever wanted a succinct explanation for more than 2,000 years of vicious Christian antisemitism, all you had to do was to tune in to a meeting of the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission last Monday.
The Problem of the Christian Assassin
On Saturday morning, Americans woke up to horrifying news. According to a federal criminal complaint, a man named Vance Boelter had stalked four Minnesota lawmakers and then attacked two of them — State Senator John Hoffman and State Representative Melissa Hortman…
Megan Basham goes after Jennifer Lyell even in death
While evangelical leaders across the nation mourned the untimely death of Jennifer Lyell, Megan Basham took everyone to task for having too much empathy. And then she engaged positively with a conspiracy theorist who suggested — with zero evidence —…
Evangelical Trump Hypocrisy Syndrome strikes again
Imagine former President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, posting a social media meme riffing off The Blues Brothers movie and declaring he’s “on a mission from God.” Conservatives would have lost their ever-loving minds. This would have been further evidence…
Children in the marketplace
Jesus said it: But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not…
Trump’s antisemitism campaign worries American Jews
President Donald Trump’s efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses worry American Jews, who say Trump could hurt more than he helps. But Trump’s moves have been applauded by politically conservative Christians and others opposed to liberalism in higher education….
It’s 2025: Where’s our witness?
We were out visiting for the church, the Deacon and I, two Baptists prepared to “win the lost for Christ” on a steamy summer Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth. The Deacon was a committed soul winner, and I was a…
Trump has made 100 threats to prosecute his enemies, and that could include religious foes
Since 2022, Donald Trump has issued more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish his perceived opponents, according to an analysis by National Public Radio released Oct. 22. On the same day, evangelical historian and author Kristin…
David French says he’ll vote for Kamala Harris to save conservativism
A high-profile conservative evangelical influencer announced Aug. 11 he’ll vote for Kamala Harris in an effort to save conservativism. New York Times columnist David French and his wife, Nancy French, already have become persona non grata in some evangelical circles…
A week at Chautauqua has me pondering the future of the Protestant Mainline
I was fussing over a jigsaw puzzle when somebody turned on the Biden-Trump debate. As the combatants droned on in the background, my attention remained firmly fixed on the task before me. It was all birds and foliage. A thousand…