Blood Libels and Media Mythologies

Last updated on: July 12, 2023 at 10:43 am By Philip Jenkins

This post has two related themes. It is about how the media systematically misunderstand and misreport religion, especially Christianity. It also concerns one of the most troubled and troubling verses in the New Testament. By way of background, Jim Caviezel is a talented actor whose best-known role was as Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 film The Passion of the Christ. Caviezel has espoused conspiracy theories related to QAnon, including charges about children being abducted, tortured, and killed by sinister elites.... Read more

On Saying Goodbye to a Beloved Church

Last updated on: July 9, 2023 at 9:11 pm By Nadya Williams

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On Sunday, July 2, 2023, we attended service for the last time in our beloved local church of seven years. There is nothing wrong with the church. It is thriving; reaching people in the community; loving members old and new, young and old; sending out missionaries near and far; and preaching the gospel faithfully and beautifully every Sunday. Its care for children and families, in my view, has been an example other churches should follow, as I wrote here just... Read more

Facing Fears with an Evangelical Faith

Last updated on: July 13, 2023 at 10:13 am By Joey Cochran

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Tumultuous times of transition in the academic, evangelical, political, and social spheres have brought evangelical historians to an interesting midpoint of the summer. These conditions potentially foster fears that plausibly lead to the opportunity of faith. This past spring, a number of colleges and universities announced their closing, notable from the Christian sector included the announcement from King’s College in Manhattan. Then more news of transitions came from Manhattan in May, with the passing of Timothy Keller, heir of the... Read more

Parents’ Rights, Religious Freedom, and the State

Last updated on: July 17, 2023 at 9:04 pm By Lisa Clark Diller

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There’s an old saying that political battles in the United States are first fought in her schools. And while fewer major national conflicts are centered around nuclear families, it is indeed children who are the ultimate test of the boundaries of state power and liberal democracy. Liberalism presumes autonomous individuals and their rights. But where do the rights of children stand in this matrix? Are they individuals or are they required to be parts of communities and family units who... Read more

Fourteen Million Caribbean Americans (And Their Churches)

Last updated on: July 6, 2023 at 5:52 am By Philip Jenkins

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I recently posted about the critical importance of the Caribbean dimension in American history. The same observation holds true about present day realities, but issues of labeling mean we tend not to see it. But without that Caribbean dimension, we miss a huge amount about contemporary American life, including its urban, social, and political history. The religious angle is unavoidable. Bear with me as I try to find and define the Caribbean. It is an important question, and the answer... Read more

What’s Wrong with Racism?: The Supreme Court and You

Last updated on: July 5, 2023 at 3:26 pm By Malcolm Foley

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This is now the first question that I ask whenever I enter into a conversation about race. I also always joke that I hope that I find myself among a sympathetic audience that thinks that something is wrong with racism. Having been given that assurance, I encourage the room to throw out one of racism’s manifold evils: “It’s unfair!” “It leads to and comes from hate!” “It breaks apart our unity!” “It leads to violence!” “The category of race is... Read more

Medieval Christian Nationalism? Crusades and Christian Nations

Last updated on: June 25, 2023 at 4:05 pm By Lynneth Renberg

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For those of us who are American, today is the Fourth of July: a day for fireworks, family, and celebrating (or reckoning with) the history of the United States of America. I have to admit, as a scholar of medieval history, I was tempted to ask a scholar of American history to write today’s post! Many scholars would say that nationalism as we think of it today didn’t exist during the Middle Ages. But after some thought, I wonder if... Read more

On the Students for Fair Admission v. President and Fellows of Harvard decision

Last updated on: July 2, 2023 at 12:01 pm By Ansley Quiros

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On Thursday June 29, the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in college admissions in an anticipated decision. The ruling, Students for Fair Admission, Inc. vs. President and Fellows of Harvard University and UNC, et al. overturned Grutter v. Bollinger and Fisher v. University at Texas-Austin, and set a new precedent for higher education in America. Since, as the decision begins, “both Harvard and UNC employ a highly selective admissions process to make their decision” and those admissions decisions can... Read more

American History and the Caribbean Dimension

Last updated on: July 2, 2023 at 3:44 pm By Philip Jenkins

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Should students of American history be allowed to escape without taking a course or two on the Caribbean? I have described the dangers of writing American history backwards, using the territory of the Lower Forty-Eight states as if these were the nation’s natural and predestined bounds, and were always intended to be. But throughout the colonial period, we must never forget that each of the great colonial empires on the North American continent was part of a much larger New... Read more

Berlin and Baylor: Models for Memorializing a Difficult Past

Last updated on: June 28, 2023 at 3:18 am By Andrea L. Turpin

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You would not think that the land of beer and sausages would help me with my summer health goals. But Germany is also the land of public transportation. Suffice it to say, I walked a lot of Berlin over my nine days there. (I extended a trip to participate in a wonderful SCRIPTS conference, “Religion and the Liberal Script: Contestation, (In-)Compatibility or Sustenance?”) I came back healthier—and more informed. Berlin is an unusual city. Over the twentieth century it has... Read more

What is the biblical view on telling the truth?