George Lakoff argues that progressives are in despair because they are trying to do 21st century politics with an 18th century mind. Progressives are clinging to an unworkable model of reason. Another of Aristotle’s persuasion tropes is sweeping across America –…
Dear Robert Jeffress: You’ve called the wrong U.S. president ‘ungodly’
Robert Jeffress used his Dec. 5 sermon to claim that President Joe Biden has the most “ungodly” administration in American history. “The Biden administration is ungodly! I don’t care how many rosary beads they rub, they’re ungodly,” he intoned. “This…
The leap from ‘The Bible says’ to ‘Believe me’ and ‘God told me’
I confess to the temptation of dismissing evangelical rhetoric of the political sort as symptomatic of one or another particularly noxious pathology. There’s also my own impatience at what I discern as the absurdity of evangelical political messages confidently delivered…
The violence of rhetoric in our toxic culture
Words have wings and fly where they please. Words provide unconscious but sometimes deadly after-effects the speaker can’t control. Most recently, Congress has censured Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for his depiction of violent acts against other members of Congress and…
Why is there a boom in enrollment at private Christian schools? Here’s one critical theory: Race
The New York Times headline, “Christian Schools Boom in a Revolt Against Curriculum and Pandemic Rules,” begs the question “Why?” “Why are Christian schools growing? Before addressing this thematic question, there is a definitional concern that needs attention. The secular…
Trump didn’t dupe evangelicals; they chose him, Baptist author says
Author and Baptist pastor Rodney Kennedy is no fan of Donald Trump or of the evangelicals who helped put the former president into the White House in 2016. But he’s equally disdainful of those who portray Trump’s conservative Christian base…
Letting social media choose your Lenten practice can be rewarding — and humorous
Finding fresh ways to observe Lent, year in and year out, can be challenging. While Catholics, Episcopalians, Orthodox Christians and others can rely on tradition to guide them, some Christians and churches are left to their own devices. Fortunately for those…
Aiming to deepen rite’s meaning, Baptist pastor in Ohio baptizes infant
By Jeff Brumley There are plenty of Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist churches in Dayton, Ohio, where parents could have an infant child baptized. But one local couple wanted Rodney Kennedy to baptize their 7-month-old son, even though they knew…