An Ordinary Preaching Woman in a Texas Baptist Church, c. 1930

Last updated on: September 20, 2017 at 10:57 am By Beth Allison Barr

In a 2006 interview, Wayne Grudem argued that female leaders in the church (especially pastors) are disobeying God’s word and thus open to “the withdrawal of God’s hand of protection and blessing.” As Grudem explained: “A woman who serves as a pastor, preaching to both men and women, is disobeying the word of God. There are always negative consequences to that.” Female leadership, Grudem argues, leads to an erosion of orthodoxy in churches–including misinterpretation of scripture and lack of trust... Read more

The Two Best Historical Dramas on TV

Last updated on: September 18, 2017 at 10:11 pm By Chris Gehrz

Why The Americans and Outlander may be the best historical dramas on the small or silver screen. Read more

The Ancient Revolution That Made Our Modern Religious World

Last updated on: August 27, 2017 at 1:23 pm By Philip Jenkins

My new book Crucible of Faith is out tomorrow, September 19. I summarized the main arguments in an earlier post, but let me here present the opening section. According to Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus told the frightening parable of the Wheat and the Tares. This tells of a man sowing good seed in a field. In the night, an enemy sows tares (weeds) among the wheat, and the two kinds of plant grow up together. The farmer tells his servants not... Read more

Churches, Mosques and Temples: Who Came First?

Last updated on: September 13, 2017 at 4:27 pm By Philip Jenkins

One really divisive issue in European religion these days concerns the question of “Who came first?” and who is properly entitled to own great buildings and places of worship. This is a grave matter separating Muslims and Christians. The topic has been in the press recently, though, for less weighty reasons. The issue focuses on such great buildings as the mighty cathedral of Córdoba, in southern Spain, built on the site of a mosque, and incorporating large sections of that... Read more

Evangelicals on Campus

Last updated on: September 13, 2017 at 11:44 pm By johnturner

“From 1950 until the 1990s,” writes Andrew Finstuen in his contribution to Billy Graham: American Pilgrim, “Billy Graham visited colleges and universities as often as he could.” Indeed, Graham would take his evangelistic message and his charm offensive anywhere. Graham was not always welcome on campus. Professors, especially seminary professors, often loathed Graham and criticized him as a simpleton. Graham’s celebrity guaranteed full rooms, but students wanted to trip him up. By his own admission, moreover, Graham was no intellectual.... Read more

Empty Pews? Invite Some Immigrants to America!

Last updated on: September 12, 2017 at 9:04 pm By David Swartz

Why Steve Bannon's comments on immigration make some sense Read more

4 Steps to the Renewal of Evangelicalism

Last updated on: September 12, 2017 at 12:49 am By Chris Gehrz

With evangelicals facing mounting evidence of decline, Chris suggests four steps for renewal, drawn from his forthcoming book, The Pietist Option. Read more

What is Tradition?

Last updated on: September 10, 2017 at 10:36 pm By Thomas Albert Howard

As a current project, I am working on organizing a conference on “The Idea of Tradition in the Late Modern World: An Ecumenical and Interreligious Conversation,” which will take place in the spring semester on the campus of Valparaiso University. Below, sketched, is the conference idea and preliminary information. I hope this will be of interest to Anxious Bench readers; and please notify others who might be interested. Conference Sketch: We live in an “era of accelerations,” according to the... Read more

Teaching Religion: Universal Ideas?

Last updated on: September 3, 2017 at 7:08 am By Philip Jenkins

In my last post, I tried to identify some of the universals in human nature that supply the foundation for much religious behavior, whether we are looking at the great world faiths, or traditional primal religions. Let me here offer some of the specific examples, of what I call the “building blocks” of faith, and of faiths. What features do all human beings have in common, which taken together provide the components of a kind of default religion? There are... Read more

The Roots of a Public Housing Crisis in Cairo, Illinois

Last updated on: August 31, 2017 at 10:25 am By Kristin Du Mez

We are joined today at the Anxious Bench by Kerry Pimblott, author of Faith in Black Power: Religion, Race, and Resistance in Cairo, Illinois, and Lecturer in International History at the University of Manchester. Cairo, Ill., is on “life support.” At least that was the verdict of neurosurgeon and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Ben Carson, upon visiting the rural community earlier this summer. Carson’s grim diagnosis comes on the heels of HUD’s announcement in April that Cairo’s... Read more

I saw my master taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and received a double portion of his spirit. Who am I?