How Evangelicals View God as Like Donald Trump

Last updated on: January 10, 2026 at 4:24 pm By James F. McGrath

Why would I say that “Evangelicals View God as Like Donald Trump”? It struck me quite suddenly recently that there is a parallel between how Evangelicals view “faith” and how they approach political leaders. When we realize this, we understand what an appalling view of God they have, and it makes sense of their support for Donald Trump. Let me explain. For conservative religious people, “faith” means unquestioning allegiance to God and their faith, understood as a unified package. Since... Read more

Five Stages of AI Grief

Last updated on: January 8, 2026 at 6:56 am By James F. McGrath

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It strikes me that the best way to think about the process of faculty grappling with the new technology of LLMs (Large Language Models) is by analogy to the process of working through grief outlined by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her well-known five stages of grief. Denial The first stage is denial, and we have certainly seen that among faculty. I think that the attempt to present the technology as especially harmful to the environment resulted not only from a misunderstanding... Read more

Venezuela, Greenland, and the Apocalypse

Last updated on: January 6, 2026 at 1:31 pm By James F. McGrath

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When I title this post “Venezuela Greenland and the Apocalypse” that does not mean that I am going to open the Book of Revelation and show you the verses where current events are supposedly fulfilling Biblical predictions. If you need an explanation of why that is not a good way to interpret Revelation, there are plenty out there. The book had to do with the experience of Christians during the era of the emperor Nero and afterwards. It is nonetheless... Read more

Review: 1800 Years of Encounters with Mandaeans

Last updated on: January 3, 2026 at 8:43 am By James F. McGrath

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Jorunn Buckley begins her book 1800 Years of Encounters with Mandaeans with a bold claim right in the first sentence. “The Mandaean religion can be traced back to the 1st century, directly related to John the Baptist” (p.ix). I am not sure why the next statement is to concede that this “is not the regular scholarly view” since so few scholars have made this a focus of their attention. Buckley, on the other hand, has dedicated her life to the... Read more

Beyond Deconstruction is a Month Away!

Last updated on: January 3, 2026 at 9:14 am By James F. McGrath

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In addition to wishing blog readers a happy new year, there’s something else exciting about today: The official release date for my next book Beyond Deconstruction is a month away! Usually in the month before the official release date, those who have pre-ordered from the publisher find an early surprise in the mail. Have you already ordered a copy from Eerdmans? If so, please let me know when it arrives (and later on, please share in what ways you found... Read more

ReligionProf Retrospective 2025

Last updated on: December 31, 2025 at 8:14 am By James F. McGrath

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It is always good to look back on the year that is ending, especially when it has been a challenging year, and I don’t think anyone would deny that 2025 was a challenging year. It was difficult politically and socially in the United States. It was difficult for higher education in the United States. Yet there was a lot that I can be personally thankful for, and it is worth reflecting on those things, not as a way of downplaying... Read more

Sound Doctrine in the Bible

Last updated on: December 26, 2025 at 2:28 pm By James F. McGrath

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Sound doctrine in the Bible came up in a conversation on Facebook recently. One of the chapters of my book Beyond Deconstruction highlights the shift that took place in Christianity. My discussion about it grabbed Jeremy Jernigan’s interest and so he made sure to ask me about it in my recent interview with him on his Cabernet and Pray podcast. The observation I make in the book (p.34) is by no means original to me. Others have pointed out the same... Read more

Journey to Bethlehem

Last updated on: December 24, 2025 at 8:13 am By James F. McGrath

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I watched Journey to Bethlehem a while back. I planned to do so when it was the appropriate time, around Christmas, but didn’t manage to get to it then. After that another Christmas came and went and I still failed to return to it. As this Christmas dawned, it seemed as though I ought to say something about this attempt to turn the mythical story told in the Gospels into a romantic comedy musical. There was a time when I... Read more

Review, Mandaean Symbolic Art

Last updated on: December 13, 2025 at 6:38 pm By James F. McGrath

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It is impossible to overstate how important Sandra van Rompaey’s book Mandaean Symbolic Art is. It is common to quote Ecclesiastes to the effect that the making of books there is no end. Mandaean Symbolic Art is the rare and precious instance of a kind of book that has never been written before. Let me be unambiguously clear on this, as the author of a rather distinctive book, inasmuch as many said that writing a biography of John the Baptist was... Read more

Eternal Conscious Torment and Evangelical Gatekeeping

Last updated on: December 13, 2025 at 7:13 pm By James F. McGrath

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Kirk Cameron took upon himself the role of Evangelical gatekeeper and spokesperson. Now that he has questioned the doctrine of eternal conscious torment, however, he is experiencing Evangelical gatekeeping from the other side. I shared an article on social media about this recent news, and a former student who is a staunch Evangelical asked me whether I disagreed with Evangelical condemnation of Cameron, given that the letters to Timothy and Titus call on leaders to rebuke those who fail to... Read more

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