Tia Levings was deeply embedded in a Christian fundamentalist movement that sanctioned her abuse and complete control by her husband. As she describes in her new memoir, A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy, she fled that tradition to…
The day they tried to trap my father
It’s not even occurred to me to tell this story for maybe 30 years, but Father’s Day just happened and the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting just took place, and somebody just died a few days before that happened, and…
Can progressive Christians be fundamentalists? Yes
Those of us who grew up in more conservative churches have found freedom in the exvangelical movement. Liberation Theology, multiple ways to interpret the Bible, and new theories that help us realize the Triune God is much bigger than we…
Why a Calvinist pastor may be coming to your church
Recently, I heard yet another story of a “centrist” Southern Baptist church calling a pastor who is inevitably going to steer the church sharply to the right. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in theology to understand this. It only takes…
Digital pastor Benjamin Cremer knows how to talk about faith and politics because he has lived on both sides of aisle
Benjamin Cremer experienced a call to ministry when he was 7 years old. He never could have imagined his congregation would be an online community of people fleeing toxic faith. Raised in extreme fundamentalism in Boise, Idaho, Cremer today seeks…
Fundamentalism is not the only religious voice unless we give up
The Psalmist writes: “Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.” Using the tools of biblical criticism, we…
Who is Alistair Begg, and why are American fundamentalists so upset with him?
“I’m not ready to repent over this. I don’t have to,” Alistair Begg boldly declared in a sermon titled “Compassion vs. Condemnation” at the non-denominational Parkside Church in Cleveland last Sunday. The accusations being leveled against Begg are that he has caved…
The Flea Flicker and other tricks from the fundamentalist playbook
The NFL is in the midst of the playoffs to see who will soon battle in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. As the remaining contenders compete, coaches and players watch hours of film on their opponents…
As MAGA pastors gain influence, let’s talk about peace instead of power
“Kind of disturbing” is how journalist Katie Couric described an Axios piece about how Donald Trump built an insurmountable lead in Monday’s Iowa caucus by catering to evangelical MAGA pastors. “They say obviously they embrace Trump because of the Supreme Court justices who helped…