I have just returned from Europe, where, among other things, I led a 10-day study trip in search of the origins of Protestantism in the former East Germany, now among the most secular places on earth as sociologists of religion reckon. As one Lutheran pastor put it during the twilight of the Soviet Era, “the people [here] have forgotten that they have forgotten God.” But one need not believe in God to profit from those who do. Many of... Read more
Britain during the 1960s and 1970s suffered from a Prime Minister named Harold Wilson. Once, when Wilson was to read the lesson at Westminster Abbey, the clergy involved asked him which version of the Bible he would like to use – King James, Revised, which one? Flustered, Wilson supposedly replied that he would read from the Word of God. That question of “which Bible” is actually more confusing that many Christians think. Around the world, the canon of the Bible... Read more
I have recently been posting about Dualist versions of Christianity, and their incredibly long-lasting influence across Europe and the Middle East. But whatever happened to Dualism? The answer is mysterious, but might conceivably tell us something about the origins of the European Reformation. That disappearance was near-total. In the Christian world at least, Manichaeanism was dead by the end of the Middle Ages, although it had a lengthy afterlife in Eastern Asia and China. The Albigensians were extinct by the... Read more
Both a zealous commitment to congregational autonomy and a strong impulse towards cooperative ministry underlie the organizational history of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Throughout the history of the denomination, Southern Baptist leaders have carefully navigated the principle of congregational autonomy as they have sought to develop cooperative ministries. In the SBC, congregations own their own property, call and ordain their own clergy, and conduct business independent of denominational control. Considered autonomous churches, these congregations freely associate with the SBC... Read more
Next week, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) will hold its annual meeting in Houston, TX. Over the last several decades, the SBC’s public profile has increased significantly due to the actions of its leaders and as a result of the media scrutiny that has come from solidly positioning itself on the conservative wing of American evangelicalism. Even so, very few non-Baptist journalists or readers understand the history of the SBC or grasp the organizational processes of this zealously congregational yet... Read more
Over at The American Conservative, my new Baylor colleague Alan Jacobs wonders if he is really a conservative (my short answer is yes), even though he declines to affiliate with the Republican party, doubts that corporate capitalism is the answer to all our social ills, and opposes “military adventurism” and nation-building. Jacobs centers his own political convictions on three principles: being “consistently” pro-life, embracing “subsidiarity” (the idea that entities such as family, church, and voluntary organizations are better capable of meeting... Read more
This post concerns a book written some eight hundred years out of its proper time, and one with an evocative history. Any acquaintance with early Christian history means encountering the many alternative gospels that circulated so widely in the first few centuries. Commonly, these works involved secret discourses and conversations that Jesus shared with his disciples, commonly after the crucifixion. Once the Roman Empire accepted Christianity, though, these works were destroyed or suppressed, and the common assumption is that they... Read more
Timothy L. Wesley has just published a book called The Politics of Faith during the Civil War (LSU Press, 2013). I have no vested interest in this, except that Dr. Wesley is attached to the History Department at Penn State, which was my former academic home. I cite it here because it might be of interest to lots of people who use this blog. Here is the publisher’s description: “In The Politics of Faith during the Civil War, Timothy L.... Read more
I recently posted about the enduring influence of Dualist versions of Christianity, the idea that the material world is a diabolic creation, from which Christ came to free us. These views were widespread and enduring in the early and medieval church, and flourished somewhere in all eras prior to the fourteenth century – even later in some regions. I am intrigued both by the enduring appeal of such ideas, and their distinctive use of Biblical texts. Around 970, the Orthodox Presbyter Cosmas preached... Read more
The New York Times was not especially kind to either Mitt Romney or his faith during last year’s presidential election. Every so often, however, the gray lady runs a fascinating piece that pertains to the ways that Americans view Latter-day Saints. Four years ago, the paper ran a story about how returned Mormon missionaries make great salesmen. The rationale was unsurprising: missionaries simply have the right stuff. Many speak foreign languages learned in the mission field. All have thick skins... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In