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In a sermon last year at an Irving, Texas, megachurch that helped elect Ted Cruz to the United States Senate, Cruz’ father Rafael Cruz indicated that his son was among the evangelical Christians who are anointed as “kings” to take control of all sectors of society, an agenda commonly referred to as the “Seven Mountains” mandate, and “bring the spoils of war to the priests”, thus helping to bring about a prophesied “great transfer of wealth”, from the “wicked” to righteous gentile... Read more

by Andre E. JohnsonR3 EditorHenry McNeal Turner, the first black chaplain in the Union Army and one of the most prominent religious and political leaders of Civil War era black America, was born a free black on Feb. 1, 1834, in New Berry Court House, S.C. Turner was the oldest child of Hardy Turner and Sarah Greer Turner, and while we do not know much about Turner’s other siblings, we do know that Turner’s father died while he was still... Read more

The government shutdown has sparked a new wave of talk decrying the unnecessary functions of government and praising the private sector, volunteerism, and the ability of Americans to take care of themselves and their own. Groups like “Jesus Loves Jersey” are stepping up to show how “the Church” can fill the gaps left by the shuttered government. While these types of efforts are very much at the core of what many congregations see as their role—to meet the unmet needs... Read more

In 2007, Somali-born Dutch author Ayaan Hirsi Ali published “Infidel,” an autobiography that documented her journey from repression in Muslim East Africa to the freedom of the Netherlands. To be free, Hirsi Ali claimed, Muslim women must renounce their faith and their cultures. Rife with awestruck veneration of the empowered West, Hirsi Ali’s recipe for liberation for Muslim women was eagerly consumed. The book became a New York Times best-seller and its author a celebrity. Not long after, Hirsi Ali... Read more

In 1966, Lutheran Film Associates did something surprising. They commissioned and publicly released A Time for Burning, a documentary film that laid bare the harsh reality that racism was alive and well within Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. The film, directed by Bill Jersey and Barbara Connell, documented the efforts by Augustana’s new pastor Bill Youngdahl to get his all-white congregation to reach out to neighboring black churchgoers in the interest of racial reconciliation and integration. The cameras rolled as leaders within Augustana... Read more

Two of the most frustrating recent topics on talk radio have been the risk of trusting Muslims and the United States as a Christian nation. With regard to Islam, callers and hosts alike have ignored or rejected the wide range of differences among Muslims, asserting that all Muslims are alike and are our enemies. A guest on one local show warned that any Muslim who seems friendly is, in fact, simply awaiting a chance to overpower us. If the speaker knows... Read more

Rev. Dr. Eugene Gibson, Senior Pastor at the Olivet Fellowship Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, has published his first book, Courage Under Fire. The book is a collection of inspiring messages that will help those in married and single relationships guard the romantic flame against the fiery issues of life. Focusing on God’s power of love and healing, this collection of sermons will help people endure and overcome life’s toughest challenges. When people speak about keeping the flame of a... Read more

The September issue of the Bulletin has been published and is available in both print and electronic versions. Below is the table of contents of this issue. This issue focuses on the topic of religion and humor. We have a range of articles, covering humor in South Park, Woody Allen, satirical comedy directed toward to the Creation Museum, and “parody” religions. Two responses are offered, one with a strong theoretical focus while the other engages pedagogical uses of humor in the religious studies classroom.... Read more

Religions are richly variable in their organizations, belief systems, rituals, and practices. This is true across cultures and history. Grand statements about what “all religions” say or believe about anything—especially about such a complex phenomenon as human desire and sexuality—are not just unhelpful, they’re impossible. Nonetheless, this has not prevented many Christian opponents of homosexuality from asserting that all religions condemn homosexuality. This assertion is patently false; it is not even the case that all Christianities condemn homosexuality. The myth... Read more