On June 2, soccer coach Kelsey Morrison was fired and immediately escorted from the campus of Geneva College, an evangelical school near Pittsburgh. Her offense was two posts on Instagram. In this exclusive interview with me for Baptist News Global,…
Lessons from Cicero on America’s 247th birthday
I am reading the Roman statesman-philosopher Cicero these days. You might ask why in the world that dusty old personage should be occupying my thoughts. The answer is that, as part of the preparation of my new book on democracy,…
‘May they all be one’
“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” — John 17:20-21 John 17 often is labeled as Jesus’ “high-priestly prayer.” This…
Our weekly gun massacres mark a devastating cultural failure
Our weekly gun massacres in the United States are shocking in the extreme. They set us apart from other nations in the worst possible sense. I have not yet been in or near one of these massacres. The closest I…
The Christian Right continues its futile but dangerous war of reaction
For a long time, it was clear the white Christian Right in the United States was waging a war of reaction (sometimes open, sometimes clandestine) against just about every social, cultural and legal change that has taken place in our…
The ‘man of lawlessness’ gets indicted in New York
Since summer 2015, the most important figure in American life has been Donald J. Trump. Every time some of us hoped we would be through with him, he has shown he is not through with us. His exhausting presence and…
The dubious ethics of Christian Twitter
Twitter is an enticement to sin. How’s that for a lead? Shall I say more? I discovered Twitter early and have maintained a steady presence there, despite various pauses, doubts and regrets. I almost abandoned the site last year when…
An interview with Ukrainian Baptist theologian Fyodor Raychynets
Last week, I was in Amsterdam for the annual academic colloquium of the International Baptist Theological Study Center. Among the scholars present there was my friend Fyodor Raychynets, a distinguished Baptist pastor and theologian, and a leader of the Ukrainian…
The Black resistance tradition and its fight for U.S. democracy
Black America flipped the script on a racialized democratic state to make it more perfect. It is Black people’s fight that makes the United States exceptional. —Randal Jelks (2022) Many of us are profoundly worried about the health of…