Nazi Otto Ohlendorf and the Old Testament Nazi war criminal Otto Ohlendorf defended his actions by appealing to the Old Testament “texts of terror” in which God is said to have commanded the genocide of Canaanites. His point, during his Nuremberg trial, was that genocide cannot automatically be considered a crime against humanity because God, the God believed in by most of his prosecutors and judges, commanded it. If the Jewish and Christian God, the God of the Bible, commanded... Read more

Can Anything Be Religion? Here, this time, I take off my Christian theologian’s hat and wear only my religion scholar hat. I hold three degrees in religious studies, two from a major secular research university (Rice, Houston, Texas). I have been involved in various program units of the American Academy of Religion including one that focuses on new and alternative religions especially in America. I have conducted non-sectarian research into new and alternative religions, presented scholarly papers at professional societies... Read more

The Political Meaning of Christianity: Relevance to MAGA Some of us have been reading and discussing The Political Meaning of Christianity by Glenn Tinder. This is my final post about it. If you have been reading the book, feel free to comment; if you have not been reading it, feel free to ask a question. The final chapter is entitled “Prophetic Spirituality.” Then comes the Postscript entitled “World Politics.” It is there, in the Postscript, that Tinder makes some comments... Read more

What Is the “Decisive Factor” in Salvation? Some Calvinists have told me (and other Arminians) that in Arminian theology the sinner’s decision to accept God’s grace unto salvation is “the decisive factor” in his or her salvation. And, of course, that is meant as a criticism of Arminianism. But is it a valid criticism? No. Some time ago I watched the movie, based on real events, “Thirteen Lives.” The movie is a documentary with fictional features. It portrays the underwater... Read more

A Prophetic Book for Conservatives and Progressives: Our Next Book for Discussion (First I will finish our current discussion of The Political Meaning of Christianity. Then, in a couple weeks, we will begin discussion of this excellent new book by Austin Fischer. Please order it as soon as possible. I guarantee it will inspire and challenge you.) Austin Fischer is lead pastor of The Vista (church) in Temple, Texas and my former student. In this case, the student has surpassed... Read more

An Evangelical Side Show? Controversy Again Youtube is filled with rage over this.  Should it be? Or does this just illustrate a weakness within American evangelical ranks? It happened in Springfield, Missouri. A mega church put on a Christian men’s conference. The church was packed with men and maybe a woman or two. The conference opened with a very muscular man climbing a high pole with a sword in his mouth, swallowing the sword, and sliding down the pole, stopping... Read more

The John Birch Society and the Republican Party People smarter than I and more “in the know” are claiming that the current Republican Party is adopting many of the ideas and policies of the John Birch Society. (You can look them up on Youtube if you doubt me.) What is the John Birch Society (JBS)? Well, I don’t have time or space here to go into its history or ideology. Look it up on Wikipedia. I found the article there... Read more

How a Christian Can Influence Culture for the Good Of course, there are numerous ways in which a Christian can influence society and culture for the good. I write here as an Anabaptist who does not believe in Christians using coercion or force to control “the public square.” But what can an Anabaptist-inclined Christian do beyond speaking out, beyond persuasion, beyond prophetic speech, beyond writing letters to the editor? I was watching a major network news program, on nation-wide television,... Read more

The Political Meaning of Christianity: Ambivalence Here I take up two more parts or sections of Chapter Four “Social Transformation.” They are “Private Property and Capitalism” and “Mass Society” (pp. 180-195). The them running throughout this book but highlighted in these two sections is ambivalence—ambivalence toward politics and all things associated with it. The Christian, for Christian reasons, ought always to have a posture of ambivalence toward politics but also toward economics and social organizations. In Private Property and Capitalism... Read more

Is American Christian Nationalism an existential threat? Guest Post by Theologian Ted Peters Ted Peters is one of America’s best known and most influential theologians. His credentials are too many and too impressive to list here. Look him up on Wikipedia. His blog is: www.patheos.com/blogs/publictheology. He has posted an interview with me (and commentary) on his blog today (May 4, 2024).   American Christian Nationalism (ACN) and White American Christian Nationalism (WACN) exist. But they are too small to become... Read more