“The whole Christmas story is pregnant with enigma and violated expectations. The Creator pulls on a garment of blood and bone. Almighty God is somehow present in a fragile newborn. The deliverer of mankind is delivered, slimy with vernix, in…
How Michael W. Smith, George W. Bush and one popular worship song expose the problem of Calvinist theology and politics
There is a reason why one of the most influential worship songs of the past quarter century expresses a truth that could turn evangelicalism upside down and yet has been repeatedly rejected and banned by conservative evangelical complementarian Calvinists. Growing…
Now a dean at Belmont, former attorney general Alberto Gonzales sees service as a gift from God
With students walking by in the distance, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, now dean of the Belmont University College of Law, still understands what life in the spotlight requires. In an exclusive interview with Baptist New Global, the nation’s…
Majorities of all Americans want something Congress refuses to do: Meaningful immigration reform now
Despite decades of Congressional stalemate and avoidance of passing meaningful immigration reform, Americans overwhelmingly support immigration reform happening right now — and especially before the November midterms. The urgency is felt not only by Democrats but also by majorities of…
The long, dry line from 9-11 to Jan. 6
Every year, just before the end of the old year and the beginning of the new, my wife and I always watch CBS’s annual broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors. We love it. We weep with the honorees, the masters…
Leaving Afghanistan was the right thing done the wrong way, Americans say in two polls
Doing the right thing the wrong way seems to summarize how Americans feel about the United States’ exit from its 20-year occupation of Afghanistan. Two national polls, conducted about a week apart, show growing confidence among Americans that leaving Afghanistan…
Here I am, Uncle Sam, send me: What Biden got wrong
Those (military members) who have served through the ages and have drawn inspiration from the Book of Isaiah, when the Lord says: “Whom shall I send? Who shall go for us?” The American military has been answering for a long…
Love ’em and leave ’em: America walks out on Afghanistan
I’ve been trying to write a country song that people in Afghanistan can sing in the days to come. It also applies to lots of other folks America has pledged eternal love for, only to disappear when the thrill is…
On Afghanistan, there were no innocent choices available
There were no morally unambiguous options, no innocent choices, facing President Joe Biden when it came to deciding what to do about the 20-year U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan that has cost the lives of nearly 2,500 U.S. troops, 3,800…