I had lunch with a friend a few days ago, and the conversation inevitably turned to what is happening in our body politic. She then said something I can’t stop thinking about: “What if what’s happening in our country is…
‘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…
‘This is our 1933,’ Jones warns
“This is our 1933,” Robert P. Jones told the FaithWorks “Compassion and Justice” conference Feb. 20 in Austin, Texas. Jones, founder and president of Public Religion Research Institute, was a keynote speaker at the event held at Riverbend Church. FaithWorks,…
New study proves immigrants help US economy and are not a drain
Immigrants are essential to the U.S. economy because they pay more in taxes than they use in benefits, according to a new study by the Cato Institute. The report undermined President Donald Trump’s claim that the “average illegal alien costs…
At Labor Department Prayer Service, MAGA Preacher Says Employees are Working for God and Trump
During the third monthly Christian worship service held inside the U.S. Department of Labor’s office building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday (Feb. 11), a Trumpian pastor baptized the work of the federal agency. Leon Benjamin, a charismatic preacher who leads a nondenominational…
Abuse isnʼt the result of sin; itʼs the result of omnipotence
What if power abuses are ultimately theological? Clergy abuse is so common, it has become a cliche. The new archbishop of Canterbury was accused of colluding with an abusive priest. In December, a federal judge ordered the New Orleans Archdiocese…
Mohler joins the war on empathy and takes on Hillary Clinton
Al Mohler doesn’t believe empathy is a real thing, but he does believe Hillary Clinton has ruined the idea of social justice. In his Feb. 3 podcast called “The Briefing,” the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary joined the conservative…
Conversing with the code-red morally bankrupt mind of MAGA
Remember the famous scene in A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson’s character, Col. Jessup, bellows, “You’re goddamn right I ordered the code red!” Remember the stunned reaction of Lt. Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise? My recent experience wasn’t that…
As a Pentecostal, I wonder what’s happened to the Christian heart
It is common knowledge that evangelicals in the United States are staunch supporters of the MAGA movement. It’s not a stretch to suggest, had it not been for the evangelical vote, Donald Trump would not have been elected president even…
Let’s talk about Mar-a-Lago Face
What is happening to women’s faces — and some men? A few people whose faces have transformed beyond what is normal come to mind: Kristi Noem, Laura Loomer, Susan Dell, Laura Trump. Even Matt Gaetz’s face was a sight to…
We need to learn again from the Black Church tradition
Growing up, my parents — Evangelist Idella Cora Thomas and Leonard Thomas — guided me spiritually. They emphasized the importance of spiritual discernment in navigating the world and advocating for justice. They wanted me to understand where evil lurks within…
Reclaiming Christianity from the evangelical hypocrites
I lost the message of Christ to these evangelicals. I really wanted so desperately to reclaim the Christian faith from the hypocrites who have taken control of the message of Jesus for the last 50 years, but I can see…