The headline in The Atlantic declared: “The Cost of Ron DeSantis’ Ideological Purity.” That got my attention, because “ideological purity” is big theme among religious conservatives these days — especially among that group we sometimes call the TheoBros. Those are…
What happens when Tom Ascol finds Ted Cruz to be too liberal and quotes Leviticus 20:13?
When a prominent Southern Baptist pastor quotes Levitical law prescribing the death penalty for participants in gay sex, should that be interpreted as calling for capital punishment for gay people in America today? Apparently not, according to Florida pastor Tom…
Tom Ascol has the wrong apostates in mind
In a recent article titled “Some Will Apostatize,” Tom Ascol breathes fire and brimstone over those he is certain will desert the Christian faith as he defines it. 1 Timothy 4:1 seems to be the text of his sermonic outburst:…
Forget Alvin Bragg; Trump should really fear losing his evangelical base
More than his recent and unprecedented indictment, Donald Trump should be fearful of losing his evangelical base to another candidate willing to toe the line on evangelical orthodoxy on social policies. At least, that’s what pundits, politicians and pollsters are…
Sometimes it’s not a good idea to quote the Bible
Just because you’re quoting the Bible doesn’t mean you’re not embracing racism. That’s a lesson Coach Mark Adams of Texas Tech University learned the hard way last week. While the comments that got him fired were discouraging and inappropriate, what’s…
In the SBC, a cord of three is not easily broken: Debates about sexuality, gender and abuse all twist together
There’s only one thing Southern Baptist Convention conservatives get more upset about than women serving as pastors: The slightest affirmation of LGBTQ persons. This truth was borne out in the SBC over the last week as leaders sought to put…
Why these Christian men believe women shouldn’t have the right to vote
Following new data comparing voter registration and turnout rates between women and men, a group of male leaders associated with Doug Wilson believes the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote, was a mistake….
Sills lawsuit misrepresents a piece of evidence, and that error got highlighted by Ascol and Basham
After Baptist News Global broke the news that former seminary professor David Sills and his wife, Mary, filed a defamation lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention and 11 other defendants, three high-profile Southern Baptists took to Twitter to highlight one…
Tom Ascol endorses Ron DeSantis and Christian nationalism in weekend campaign rally invocation
The same weekend Ron DeSantis released a campaign video saying he had been sent to Florida directly by God on the eighth day of creation, a prominent Southern Baptist pastor offered an invocation at a DeSantis campaign rally and then…