There’s a feeling that the whole world has gone populist! Country singer Jason Aldean’s song, “Try that in a Small Town” suggests that populism invaded America. I argue that populism has been part of the American political scene since at least Andrew Jackson Mr. Aldean sounds really pissed! He paints a picture of small-town resentment and revenge that is distorted and less than honest. He’s not really singing about small towns; he’s singing about people who are angry, resentful, and... Read more

American historian David Blight says, “American democracy is in peril and nearly everyone paying attention is trying to find the best way to say so. Should we in the intellectual classes position our warnings in satire, in jeremiads, in social scientific data, in historical analogy, in philosophical wisdom we glean from so many who have instructed us about the violence and authoritarianism of the 20th century? Or should we just scream after our holiday naps?” Answering Blight’s question, I decided... Read more

A Home for Everyone Jesus claims the mustard seed is the smallest seed in the world, and that it produces the largest tree in the world. He also claims that the mustard tree is the largest tree in the world, but what matter is that all the birds make nests in the tree. This is a picture of the kingdom of God: No strange birds. What are we to do when a parable of Jesus gets the facts wrong? The... Read more

Long Live the Weeds          People have strong opinions about who belongs and who doesn’t. Emotions run high over the presence of Others. Jesus tells a story with strict instruction: “Leave the weeds alone.” My purpose here – to demonstrate the progressive values that make a space for those so often considered “weeds” in God’s garden. Is the image a weed or a flower?  We should have known better. Our narrative teaches us that we are not... Read more

Evangelicals Live in a Two-story HouseEvangelicals have been in a tizzy lately over transgender rights, books in public schools and libraries, how soon the law can prohibit an abortion, and an astonishing array of desired government interventions. I am confused. The people who insist the government should stay out of their lives and churches are now insisting on the government telling everyone else what to do. When evangelicals insist on government intervention and when they want the government to leave... Read more

Conservative Christians are convinced they have legitimate concerns about the teaching of American history in public schools. They have complained, “Teachers intentionally made students feel bad about America’s many crimes from its checkered past – slavery, the near genocide of Native Americans, segregation, and the oppression of women” (The Anointed, 3). They are determined to change what is taught in American history by producing a different picture of America. This “whitewashing” of history attempts to construct a new Garden of... Read more

God Not in the Abuse of Hagar and Neither Is the Bible  Too much of American Christian culture breathes a white, toxic masculinity. This heteronormative, male dominated system even manages to involve women in the abuse of power. Sarah represents every conservative evangelical woman who upholds, defends, and supports the structure of male toxicity. The story of Hagar moves with shift-shaping swiftness, across time and space; its explosions may seem disconnected from each other. They are not. This violence shares... Read more

“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth.” My paraphrase: “In beginning God created the universe, and she took her own sweet time.” This is one of the most important verses in Scripture. Genesis 1:1 has a New Testament twin: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is an important affirmation: Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 go together. The Bible holds creation and salvation together. Put... Read more

The “Worked Up” vs. The “Woke” The Rev. Robert Jeffress, in an appearance on the Todd Starnes radio show, accused Democrats of worshiping the pagan god of the Old Testament Moloch. Jeffress said, “Well, apparently the god they worship is the pagan god of the Old Testament Moloch, who allowed for child sacrifice,” Jeffress said. “The god of the Bible doesn’t sanction the killing of millions and millions of children in the womb, I think the god they are worshiping... Read more