The Christian Crusaders are planning another insurrection on January 6. Despite — or perhaps because of — a Democratic margin of victory so significant on Tuesday that not even Donald Trump could claim foul, some white evangelicals are not willing…
Narnia is not a test to separate faithful Christians from enemies
“Sometimes one story is the beginning of all the others,” the narrator proposes in the trailer for Greta Gerwig’s upcoming film, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, as a forest green furniture cover falls from the dark brown wardrobe. “Are you ready?” Polly…
In conversation with Rick Pidcock about Weapons of Worship
This week I caught up with Rick Pidcock, a friend from the shared publishing world of Baptist News Global who has now written a riveting new book, Weapons of Worship: How the Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism. Rick,…
Megan Basham is wrong about who is a Christian
People who identify as Christians but give money to Mainline churches and organizations aren’t actually Christians because they’re giving money to organizations that support LGBTQ people and abortion. So says the conservative commentator Megan Basham, who calls herself a “Christian…
Are white evangelicals really that ignorant?
Perhaps the oddest defense of white evangelicalism in recent weeks has been to acknowledge much of the harm they’ve caused while claiming it’s not due to their theology, but due to their ignorance. During this second Trump administration, patriarchal Christianity…
As midterms approach, Fox News is focused on heaven and hell
One of the biggest ironies among conservatives today is that they complain so much about “fake news” while watching Fox News. As Donald Trump lashes out against the media, white evangelicals claim the mainstream media is attempting to indoctrinate Americans….
What the SBC’s new survey on worship leaders says and doesn’t say
The Southern Baptist Convention released a large-scale study on worship leaders in SBC churches last week, and while the results may be alarming, they should not be surprising. Anyone who’s been paying attention for the last four decades should recognize…
What’s so upsetting to evangelicals about Kristin Du Mez?
“Do you know where we are?” I asked my 16-year-old son as we turned onto the main road that goes near my parents’ house. “No,” he replied. “My awareness of the city is like disconnected bubbles. Gramma’s neighborhood is one…
Reflections on Death of the Pastor’s Wife
The morning after receiving word that his wife, Mica, had died by a gunshot wound to the head, pastor John-Paul Miller declared with excitement to his congregation, “I wrote a new parody for you all today!” Cheers erupted as Miller…
In Dearborn, the latest evidence of the new Crusades
Police in tactical gear pushed their way through the crowd of Christian Crusaders in Dearborn, Mich., Tuesday as January 6 insurrectionist Jake Lang and pastor Lorenzo Sewell led the flag-waving, shofar-blowing worship warriors into battle against their Muslim neighbors. Dressed…
Would Jesus zap children with shock gloves?
We now have reached the stage in MAGA’s descent into depravity where they respond to criticism of ICE vigilantes shooting people by opting for the more humane practice of electric shock. On Aug. 11, the Associated Press reported that Immigration and Customs…
Don’t be surprised white evangelicals still support Jesse Watters
Given that white evangelicals have spent the last decade largely ignoring the sexual abuse being perpetrated by their pastors and politicians and even calling such allegations a hoax, it’s no wonder they’d celebrate sexually abusive pundits as well. According to…