Why Did Jonathan Edwards Think That Slavery Was Morally Right?

Last updated on: September 25, 2023 at 3:40 pm By Daniel K. Williams

John Piper, the Minnesota-based Baptist pastor who has popularized Jonathan Edwards’s Calvinist theology for a new generation of the “young, restless, and reformed,” said that he read Edwards diligently for twenty years before realizing that the eighteenth-century New England theologian had ever owned slaves. When he found out that the man he venerated more than any other Christian theologian had treated human beings as property, he was “surprised.” He had read all of Edwards’s major works, many of his sermons,... Read more

“God is a God of Action”: A Conversation with Felipe Hinojosa on Latino Religious Politics, Scholarship, and the Public Good

Last updated on: September 25, 2023 at 6:29 pm By Melissa Borja

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The past two weeks—the opening days of National Hispanic Heritage Month—have been marked by intense public debate about how history museums should tell the story of Latinos in the United States. As discussed last week in TIME and over the weekend in the New York Times, at issue are two exhibits: “¡Presente!,” which offers an overview of Latino history and is currently on display at the National Museum American History, and a second exhibit about Latino civil rights activism... Read more

How The Ancient Christian Heresies Lasted A Thousand Years Longer Than We Think

Last updated on: September 21, 2023 at 7:12 am By Philip Jenkins

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Historians sometimes have the bad habit of assuming that laws and edicts passed in bygone eras actually meant something. They note a law that prohibits Behavior X, and assume that this somehow suppressed that behavior, without noting that the same government continued to pass similar laws regularly and frequently over the following decades or centuries, suggesting that the original prohibition had little if any effect. In reality, ancient and medieval states were far weaker than we ever assume, and deviant... Read more

The Old Home Place: An Evangelical Conservative Mennonite Writes a 788-Page Novel

Last updated on: September 19, 2023 at 1:17 pm By David Swartz

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It’s a fascinating and lovely and disturbing book, and it made me think hard about how to pass on faith and tradition to my children. Read more

Mothers of the Church: Blandina

Last updated on: September 18, 2023 at 4:17 pm By Adam Renberg

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Enduring violence has long been part of the Christian story—Stephen was stoned (Acts 7:54-60), Paul was beaten numerous times (Acts 21:30-31; 2 Cor. 11:25), and Peter was crucified upside down according to tradition (1 Clement, Letter to Corinthians 5; Tertullian, Prescription against Heretics 36). Indeed, the center of the Christian faith, Jesus Christ, endured horrible punishment and death on a cross, encouraging his followers to ‘take up their cross’ with him (John 16:24). And take up their crosses, they did.... Read more

“The World is an Insane Asylum”: Notes from a Texas Megachurch Visit

Last updated on: September 19, 2023 at 8:41 am By Erica Ramirez

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Hi! I am a cultural sociologist on a tour of Texas Megachurches. Check out my first post here. For today’s post, I cover my recent visit to Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. ***************************************************************************************************************** Cornerstone Church, located at Stone Oak Parkway and North Loop 1604 West, is a sprawling complex with a 5,400-seat sanctuary, prayer chapel, gymnasium, classrooms, and a parking lot large enough for shuttle service. The entire operation boasts two church locations, a K-12 Christian school, a home for... Read more

The “Littlest Saints” Show: Children Modeling Faith to Children

Last updated on: September 15, 2023 at 3:10 am By Verónica A. Gutiérrez

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The stories of Christian heroes have long inspired Christian children, including my own. Saint stories are wonderful for teaching little ones about faith during a historical time period, about what it feels like to be a Christian during religious persecution, or how you can live out your faith if your parents are not Christian, or how to face martyrdom joyfully, knowing you will enter the Beatific Vision. There are so many wonderful resources available to teach our children about Christian... Read more

A Storm of Images: Iconoclasm and Religious Reformation in the Byzantine World

Last updated on: September 7, 2023 at 12:42 pm By Philip Jenkins

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I am delighted to announce the publication of my new book, A Storm of Images: Iconoclasm and Religious Reformation in the Byzantine World (Baylor University Press)! Here is the catalog description: In the eighth century, the Byzantine Empire began a campaign to remove or suppress sacred images that depicted Christ, the Virgin, or other holy figures, whether in painting, mosaics, murals, or other media. In some cases, the campaign extended to breaking or wrecking images through what became known as... Read more

Will the Real Cultural Christians Please Stand Up?

Last updated on: September 7, 2023 at 11:58 am By Nadya Williams

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If you happen to be a Christian in America right now, I have good news and bad news for you. Good news: you’re probably a lot more like a first-century Christian than you had realized. Congratulations! This may be especially gratifying to hear if you are a member of a church that works hard to strip away all the unnecessary modern extras from worship and be just like the earliest Christians. Now for the bad news: you’re probably a lot... Read more

The Remarkable Account of the Freedman, Anthony Johnson

Last updated on: September 12, 2023 at 6:58 pm By Joey Cochran

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Antonio the Negro arrived in Virginia in 1621, which means he witnessed the devastating attacks of Opechancanough upon the Chesapeake settlers during the following year. He narrowly survived these attacks and continued to labor for the Bennett family for a dozen years. Due to his faithful service to the Bennetts, he eventually earned such favor from the family that he obtained a freedman’s status for himself, his wife, and his children, sometime after 1635. No longer known as Antonio the... Read more