David P. Gushee It’s the political silly season, when the daily campaign news concerns mainly swing-state strategizing and gotcha gaffes. But soon the debates will begin. The quality of these four encounters between the contenders for president and vice-president depends heavily on…
Following Jesus in a politicized world
By Mike Smith Have you noticed some of your Facebook friends taking a sabbatical from social media during the remainder of the 2012 election cycle? The number seems to be growing. For the most part, they do so because they’re…
God is not a political football
In football, you want to move the ball forward towards the end zone. You want to exploit the weaknesses of your opponent. If they carry the ball too high on their pads it is an easy target to strip the…
A Mormon, 2 Catholics and a Protestant go into a homeless shelter
By Bill Leonard Religiously speaking, this presidential election is a fascinating moment in our national life, and for multiple reasons. First, one party nominated a Mormon and a Roman Catholic as president and vice president respectively, the first time in…
Politics on the edge
By Kevin Glenn Not long ago I received two e-mails on the same day. One was from a colleague who copied me and other pastors in his reply to a message from Michelle Obama just before she spoke at the…
Obama issues altar call —young people respond
As Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention, Twitter commenced nearly exploding. According to Twitter, as Obama spoke there were 52,757 tweets per minute; Romney had 14,289 tweets per minute. Tweets won’t win the White House, but they reveal that…
Profs probe ‘Mormon moment’
By Bob Allen Evangelicals going to the polls this November aren’t voting on whether Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is a Christian, but if he would make a better president than Barack Obama, a panel of Baptist seminary professors said…
Giving God a bad name?
By Alan Bean Republicans and Democrats are fighting about God. The GOP scored points by publicizing the fact that the blue team’s platform doesn’t mention the Almighty. Democrats responded by putting God back in their policy document and ensuring that…
Expert: Ryan wrong about school prayer
By Bob Allen An expert in church-state issues says recent remarks by vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan show that even after 50 years, many Americans misunderstand a landmark Supreme Court ruling that banned the mandatory recitation of prayers in public…