We are running out of prophecies. Let me explain. I have been writing about what seems to be the near-future likelihood of a Papal conclave, and the choice of a new Pope. For centuries, the assembled Fathers have made their choice through a mix of power politics and exalted visions, but remarkably often, at least into the present century, someone present has imported a mystical theme, in the form of a seductive prophecy, and that is about to expire. I... Read more
You know you are reading a good book when you wish you had read it already. I wish that I had read Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an Ahistoric Age a year ago. Last fall, while co-teaching an interdisciplinary course at Baylor, I confess that I struggled to articulate why exactly my students should care about history beyond its provision of context for interpreting ideas. Guiding students through our readings from Plato, Nietzsche, McIntyre, and Haidt, I knew... Read more
Reflections on C. W. Goodyear’s President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier (Simon and Schuster, 2023) Of all the presidents, James A. Garfield probably held the greatest religious interest for people in my own church circle when I was growing up. To anyone outside of the Stone-Campbell Restorationist movement, that may seem a surprising statement. Garfield’s presidency lasted only six months, since he was assassinated shortly after taking office. During that time, he accomplished almost nothing other than appointing people to his... Read more
In my last post, I charted the acceptance and gradual ostracizing of Pentecostals and charismatics within neoevangelical spaces. Neoevangelicalism, as the baby of confessional Presbyterians, Lutherans, and, later, Baptists, wanted to claim exclusive rights to Christian orthodoxy by emphasizing biblical inerrancy while simultaneously downplaying denominational distinctives. While Pentecostals were invited into the evangelical project in the 1940s, over the course of a half-century neoevangelical leaders grew wary of charismatics after the explosion of second-wave charismaticism, which spread primarily in mainline... Read more
Before too long, we are very likely to be dealing with the choice of a new Pope, when Francis either leaves this world, or else resigns. Yes, I know I am addressing an audience of experts in such matters, all of whom have seen Conclave at least once. Even so, I hope I have something of value to add in terms of the current candidates, and the future outlook for the Vatican in general. And I will confidently predict the... Read more
Until a century and a half or so ago, our premodern forbears didn’t sleep in one long stretch. If you wake up in the middle of the night, don’t watch television or scroll on your phone. Do what the premoderns did. Embrace your partner. Read. And pray. Read more
As I stared at the fragments of the cross of Christ on display in the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca last year, I was struck with the apparent contradictions of its display—this piece of wood was housed in an exceptionally ornate reliquary. Christ may have died a social outcast at the hands of oppressive political powers, but later imperial figures paid to have the cross enshrined in gold. Cyril of Jerusalem tells us in the mid fourth century that the... Read more
This Spring, I’m teaching a special topics course, “Christianizing Native Peoples,” which explores the Franciscan-indigenous relationship in central Mexico during the first half of the sixteenth century. Inspired by my research, I designed this course to explore the Christianization process via the themes of resistance and resilience. One of our readings this week was a selection from Historia de los indios de la Nueva España (1541), penned by the Franciscan fray Toribio de Benavente Motolinía, one of the famous “Twelve... Read more
In the quite near future, the world’s largest religious institution will be choosing a new head. As everyone knows, Pope Francis is extremely sick, and for a man of his age, there is a strong possibility that he will be leaving us ere long. I am not being ghoulish when I say that: the Vatican is already organizing dry-run funerals. Also, even if he does recover (as I hope), it is very probable that he will resign. What follows here... Read more
Joan Baez is back in the news because of the recent film A Complete Unknown about the life of Bob Dylan. Actress Monica Barbaro’s portrayal of Baez was riveting enough to garner an Oscar nomination. Baez was the folk music world it girl before Dylan came on the music scene, and she used her fame to support both the free speech movement and the civil right movement throughout the 1960s. I have been researching Baez for a couple of years,... Read more
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