Donald Trump’s victory suggests that the influence of white conservative Christians extends far beyond the borders of evangelical culture. Not everybody outside the white evangelical camp is bashing that tribe. Especially in the South and Midwest, white evangelicals are valued as custodians of traditional sexual ethics by white folks who attend Mainline Protestant or Roman Catholic churches.
Trump returning to Liberty University as commencement speaker
President Donald Trump will deliver the spring commencement address at Liberty University, returning to the scene of an appearance in January 2016 that helped put him on a path to winning widespread evangelical support in last year’s election. The school…
Trump education pick worries church/state separationists
Advocates of church-state separation found little comfort in Donald Trump’s Nov. 23 announcement that he plans to nominate DeVos, a leader in the self-described school reform movement for more than two decades, to head up the U.S. Department of Education.
Jerry Falwell Jr. emerges as possible Trump cabinet pick
One of Donald Trump’s earliest evangelical supporters is expected to be rewarded with a role in the next administration. The News & Advance in in Lynchburg, Va., reported Nov. 17 that Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. visited Trump Tower…
Is Trump a moderate or a maniac? Divinity school professor isn’t sure
Last fall, Wake Forest School of Divinity scholar John Senior celebrated the release of his first book, which examines the moral complexities that shape how politicians govern. The book also proposes that those who govern should view their positions as…
Embrace ‘extremist’ Christianity to counter hate, ministers say
Joe Phelps admits he is a Christian extremist. For years, he’s being spreading his brand of faith all over Louisville, Ky., where he’s the pastor of Highlands Baptist Church. And now he admits he’d like to see it catch on…
The U.S. circus of religious nationalism
If Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa were sitting at a table talking U.S. politics, would Donald Trump fit in? Or would he hijack the conversation to persuade them that he is uniquely qualified to “make America great…
Wheaton and the future of Christian education
It isn’t easy being in Christian education these days. The case of Dr. Larycia Hawkins and Wheaton College is showing us why. You’ve read it in multiple places and from various sources: Things aren’t what they once were.
Why I will protest a school I love
I am a pastor who loves Jesus. Yet I’m also realizing I’m a pastor who loves comfort, ease, a good reputation, and money almost just as much. These idols cause me to fear writing the words you’re now reading.