Recent letters published by descendants of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and members of the International Bonhoeffer Society denouncing misuse of the German theologian’s legacy illustrate a much bigger problem: The false conversion of iconic people to suit the needs of modern-day conservatives….
New film resurrects an old question: What kind of Christian was Reagan?
In an election year in which Ronald Reagan could not be elected by his own Republican Party, some evangelicals have made a movie portraying America’s 40th president as a Christian saint. Prior to the cultic adulation of the Trump era,…
Christian Zionism: the blind spot in faith-based activism against Christian nationalism
Christian nationalism in the United States seems more alive than ever. Project 2025 threatens to erode the separation of church and state, Donald Trump is hailed as a messiah following his assassination attempt, and at the state level, Ten Commandments…
Heritage Foundation: Reagan’s favorite think tank reborn for Trump 2.0
The Heritage Foundation, one of America’s most influential conservative think tanks and advocacy organizations, has changed its core values to accommodate Donald Trump. Heritage was founded in 1973 by brewer Joseph Coors and Paul Weyrich, a former John Birch Society…
Ronald Reagan, the Strict Father and American conservatism
My reading life has provided me with a web of networks with authors I never have met except on the pages of their books. Lacking any other acceptable descriptor, I refer to these writers as “my friends.” My “friend” George…
What happened to American conservatism? Engaging Matthew Continetti’s The Right
It is always valuable to engage the other side. Especially when one finds the other side utterly bewildering. The other side I am trying to engage is American political conservatism. My guide today is Matthew Continetti, a brilliant conservative policy…
The U.S. Supreme Court in a four-letter word: Bork
In recent days, the Supreme Court of the United States has issued several landmark decisions. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, six of the nine justices decided to overrule the court’s 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which…
The Trump Card: How white evangelicals are being played
As a Christian leader, I will not be silent about the current state of white evangelicalism in America. I must lay out the facts, clearly and succinctly. Due to the rise of Donald Trump and Trumpism, white American evangelicalism has…
Afghanistan: A tragic example of an unjust war
I was born in the waning years of the Vietnam War. I don’t recall the war itself, but one of my earliest childhood memories dates to about 1970 and, for some reason, it is remarkably vivid. I had tagged along…