By Thomas Kidd When Thomas Jefferson won the presidency in 1800, Baptists represented one of his most reliable constituencies. Jefferson’s Baptist supporters knew that the president did not share their evangelical faith, yet they saw him as a great friend…
It’s just war
By Bill Leonard “It’s just war.” That phrase often describes our society’s implicit response to the war in Afghanistan, begun in 2001, the longest combat conflict in American military history. The “other war” in Iraq, begun in 2003, continues with…
Are we Greece?
By Jim Denison There is a transportation strike going on here as I write from a hotel room in Athens. I come to Greece often and have never seen such gridlock. Today’s traffic is a metaphor for the politics of…
Jeffress flap illustrates wisdom of ‘no religious test’
By Brent Walker We have been instructed over and over again of this folly: — In 1789, when in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution our nation’s founders declared “no religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to…
The war on terror just got worse
By Jim Denison On Sept. 23, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas submitted a formal application for the United Nations to grant Palestinians status as an observer state. The United States has promised to veto Abbas’ resolution if it comes to…
Israel policy debate not just secular vs. religious
By David Gushee Last week Glen Stassen and I released an “Open Letter to America’s Christian Zionists.” We claimed that out of a well-intentioned love of Israel, Christian Zionists are misreading Scripture and actually endangering Israel. Christian Zionists yearn for…