A Christian Midsummer Night’s Eve

Last updated on: June 15, 2018 at 9:00 pm By Philip Jenkins

I am adapting the following from a column I published at real clear religion, back in 2013. Many of the events in the Christian liturgical year coincide with older seasonal celebrations, which the church absorbed and consecrated. We think of Christmas (Midwinter), Easter (Spring) and All Saints/All Souls (the beginning of Winter). Generally, Western churches at least have forgotten what was once one of the greatest of these parallel commemorations, which almost amounted to a second Christmas. Somewhere along the... Read more

Evangelicals and the Devil’s Music

Last updated on: June 21, 2018 at 7:44 am By johnturner

“Much of what animates evangelical churches in the twenty-first century,” maintains Randall Stephens, “comes directly from the unlikely fusion of pentecostal religion, conservative politics, and rock and pop music.” In The Devil’s Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock ‘n’ Roll, Stephens explores not just how rock music helped shape American evangelicalism, but how the intersection of rock and religion shaped large chunks of American culture. The only thing that would make this book better is if it actually... Read more

The Religious Left in Modern America

Last updated on: June 20, 2018 at 8:08 am By David Swartz

I’m pleased to welcome Doug Rossinow, a professor of history at the University of Oslo, to the Anxious Bench. In 1998 he wrote one of my all-time favorite books, a model piece of scholarship entitled The Politics of Authenticity: Liberalism, Christianity, and the New Left in America. A beautifully written, close study of Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Texas at Austin, it illuminates broader trajectories in the New Left and of the 1960s. He is also... Read more

Believe Me… You Should Read John Fea’s Book on Evangelical Support for Donald Trump

Last updated on: June 18, 2018 at 9:07 pm By Chris Gehrz

Chris reviews Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, in which John Fea explains how evangelical instincts for fear, power, and nostalgia led them to support Trump. Read more

Choice after Humanae Vitae

Last updated on: June 18, 2018 at 12:15 am By Agnes Howard

This summer marks the fiftieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, the encyclical from Pope Paul VI in 1968 confirming Roman Catholic rejection of birth control. The decision was important for both American Catholics and Protestants. For many of the former, it presented a crisis of conscience, exacerbating tensions among tradition, reason, and authority. It became a significant cultural marker for the latter too, though they were not bound by it–and indeed, earnest evangelicals whose sexual morality resembles Roman Catholic expectations often... Read more

The Inklings and King Arthur

Last updated on: June 14, 2018 at 6:06 am By Philip Jenkins

It’s hard to ignore the Inklings. They are a huge force both in high culture and popular culture, and the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien have generated income for their estates at a mind-bogglingly vast level that either of those two authors would have found hilarious. My own personal favorite among that group remains Charles Williams, who many consider a modern-day Anglican saint, besides being a major and under-acknowledged influence on canonical figures like T. S.... Read more

There Was No Good Biblical Reason to Give Mike Pence the SBC Stage

Last updated on: June 14, 2018 at 12:13 pm By Chris Gehrz

New Testament passages about honoring and praying for secular authorities, argues Chris, shouldn't have led to the Southern Baptist Convention hosting a Mike Pence stump speech for Donald Trump. Read more

The Problem with “Welcoming the Stranger”

Last updated on: June 13, 2018 at 7:57 pm By Kristin Du Mez

Today we are pleased to welcome a new contributor to the Anxious Bench, Melissa Borja. A specialist in Asian American studies, religion, and migration, Melissa is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in the American Culture program. Her first book, Follow the New Way: Hmong Refugee Resettlement and Practice of American Religious Pluralism, “explores the religious dimensions of American refugee care—how governments have expanded capacity through partnerships with religious organizations and how refugee policies have shaped the religious... Read more

Sorry, John Piper, (Medieval) Christianity Doesn’t Have A Masculine Feel

Last updated on: June 12, 2018 at 11:38 pm By Beth Allison Barr

A carved image, about two feet tall, stands alone in a glass case in the Cluny Museum in Paris. At first it seems a typical image of the Madonna and Child. Both look straight ahead, holding the gaze of the viewer. Their matching golden robes fade so easily into the golden background that it is easy to miss how mother and child are seated on an elaborately carved throne. Only the red apple loosely held in Mary’s hand stands out.... Read more

The Anxious Bench’s Favorite Historic Sites in Europe

Last updated on: June 12, 2018 at 8:49 am By Chris Gehrz

For many of us, summer is a time to leave home and explore other places. Last year we shared several of our favorite historic travel destinations in the United States. Today, we’re teaming up to suggest a few must-see sites in Europe. (See also David’s recent post about Iceland and Tal’s essay inspired by a trip to Italy and Istanbul.) Embed from Getty Images Some of the absolute best places to see in the United Kingdom are in Wales, the... Read more

Which Christian festival celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit?