James Robison — a fiery Southern Baptist evangelist who became a Pentecostal TV personality — died May 17 at age 82. Robison began preaching as a teenager, growing up mainly in the Houston suburb of Pasadena. His official biography tells…
Who Gets a Seat at the Last Supper?
Donald Trump’s re-election has sent many scrambling for historical comparisons. There is somehow comfort in the discovery (or at any rate the assertion) that there are precedents for even the most confusing and chaotic aspects of our uncertain present.
Ronald Reagan and the Whole Trump
Just 10 days after Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term, I wrote these words: The Pine Belt News: “On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted the sentences of the paramilitary members who had been convicted of…
Black History Month in Trump’s America
In 1976, the bicentennial year celebrating the birth of our nation with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Republican President Gerald Ford became the first president to recognize February as Black History Month. In a short presidential message, Ford recognized the…
Jimmy Carter, a lifelong Baptist, left a legacy of faithfulness, compassion and justice
Baptist leaders are remembering President Jimmy Carter as a Christian example of faithfulness, compassion and justice — and as a staunch advocate of a traditional view of religious liberty. Carter, the nation’s 39th president, died Dec. 29 at age 100….
Head of Dobson Institute says, ‘It’s morning in America again’
With a direct pull from President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign, the head of the James Dobson Family Institute has declared with Donald Trump’s election victory, “it’s morning again in America.” Joe Waresak’s December letter to supporters of the institute…
How conservatives misuse Bonhoeffer, King and Reagan
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…