Exeter Cathedral and Collective Memory

Last updated on: July 5, 2017 at 4:58 pm By johnturner

Most American visitors to European cathedrals are immediately struck by their vastness and grandeur. In most instances, however, the small details of cathedrals are what truly fascinate and keep the attention. This is true of the golden mosaics at Monreale, and it’s certainly true of cathedrals in England. In terms of the latter, my favorite is the Exeter Cathedral. The 14th-century cathedral survived — with relatively minor damage — both the waves of Reformation iconoclasm and the 1942 Exeter Blitz.... Read more

4 Reasons Why John Wesley Opposed the American Revolution

Last updated on: July 10, 2017 at 10:31 am By David Swartz

American Christians invoke John Wesley on all manner of subjects including sanctification, the sacraments, and social holiness. On this most sacred of American holidays, let us consider Wesley’s views on the American Revolution. Wesley, initially ambivalent about American independence, landed in favor of loyalist political arguments. He pointed out that the colonists held the same liberties as other constituent parts of the British empire. Why did these colonists refuse to pay their taxes and insist on destroying “ship-loads of tea”... Read more

Does Patriotism Belong in Christian Worship?

Last updated on: July 4, 2017 at 10:21 am By Chris Gehrz

Perhaps there's a healthier way for Christians to love their country... Read more

The Man with the Snake-shaped Birthmark

Last updated on: July 2, 2017 at 3:48 pm By Agnes Howard

An 1839 bulletin from the prestigious Boston Medical and Surgical Journal (forerunner to the New England Journal of Medicine) tells the story of Robert H. Copeland, otherwise known as “The Snakeman.” Copeland was born in South Carolina in the early nineteenth century and moved to Georgia before the Civil War. His distinguishing feature and claim to fame was as a case of maternal impressions, a theory nearly every one credited well into the nineteenth century, including doctors, whose trust in it cemented... Read more

The Anxious Bench Half-Year in Review

Last updated on: June 30, 2017 at 5:27 pm By Chris Gehrz

Presenting our most popular posts halfway into a turbulent 2017. (Plus a few you might have missed the first time.) Read more

No Religion Higher Than Truth; or, Why Theosophy Matters

Last updated on: June 29, 2017 at 8:28 am By Philip Jenkins

Theosophy is (a) a fringe esoteric/religious movement founded in the 1870s, one of many such marginal sects; or (b) the indispensable key to understanding Western culture in the early twentieth century. I can make a case for either of these extreme statements, but the arguments for (b) are much stronger than you might think. I have argued for Theosophy’s role in raising awareness of the significance of alternative Jewish and Christian scriptures. But if you are interested in the years... Read more

The Democrats Have a Religion Problem. But They’re Not the Only Ones.

Last updated on: June 29, 2017 at 3:54 pm By Kristin Du Mez

So, you’ve probably heard by now: The Democrats have a religion problem. Historian Daniel K. Williams certainly isn’t the first to make this case, but in light of Jon Ossoff’s defeat in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District last week, Williams thought it an opportune moment to consider anew the Democrats’ problem. In a New York Times op-ed, Williams identifies “a generational and racial divide between a largely secular group of young, white party activists and an older electorate that is more... Read more

Wonder Woman and Complementarianism

Last updated on: June 30, 2017 at 12:37 pm By Beth Allison Barr

I found myself thinking about complementarianism while watching the new Wonder Woman movie. Read more

Christian Responses to Lindbergh: “The Recrudescence of Paganism”

Last updated on: July 10, 2017 at 8:08 pm By Chris Gehrz

Christians debated how to respond to Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. To some, the ensuing hero worship smacked of "paganism." Read more

“To Unite All Religion Against Irreligion”

Last updated on: June 25, 2017 at 10:59 pm By Thomas Albert Howard

Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 was a grand affair, celebrating (one year late) in the form of a world fair the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyages. For religious historians, the event is especially important because the Exposition hosted the World’s Parliament of Religions—the first ever, at least in terms of scale, interreligious dialogue among what was dubbed then “the ten great religions of the world.” I have been examining this “Parliament” lately for a project that I am doing on... Read more