by Brian Foulks R3 Contributor Experience has a strange way of bringing a person to the depth of realism. It gives you the chance to wrestle with your own insecurities and biases up close and personal. As I get older and experience more of life, I am blown away by all that I don’t know about God. I grew up in the “name it and claim it” doctrine but matriculated to seminary where a reform mind became my standard. I... Read more

Just before the presidential election, I was invited to speak in Berlin at the annual meeting of the German Baptists’ theological society. The theme was the “social gospel,” a topic on which I, as a historian, am reasonably well-informed, and the opportunity was a welcome interruption from the incessant bombardment of election propaganda and the absurd claims so-called Christian politicians were then making. Once again, in the U.S. election campaign, our evangelicals—including among them many of “my” Baptists—were promoting a slew of “social issues,” but... Read more

Bob Kerrey’s political career spanned four years as the governor of Nebraska and another 12 as a United States senator from that state, during which he made a serious bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. In all that time, to the best of his memory, he never uttered what has become a routine postscript to political remarks: “God bless America.” That was deliberate. “It seems a little presumptuous, when you’ve got the land mass and the talent that we do,... Read more

Sometimes the secret purpose of academic conferences, roundtables, and symposia seems to be to make whatever subject they’re covering more substantive than it actually is. That particularly applies to academic conferences devoted to seeming pop ephemera, like last year’s University Of Chicago academic conference concerning The Jersey Shore. Part of my attraction to Northwestern University’s Madea’s Big Scholarly Roundtable (subtitle: “Perspectives On The Media Of Tyler Perry”) lies in the seeming incongruity of devoting sober academic analysis to films about a... Read more

When you hear the soaring John Williams music telling you to feel, and what to feel, before the scene plays itself out, you know you’re in Stephen Spielberg territory—and that’s exactly where we are with Lincoln, a film which has already generated a greatdeal of discussion and debate among film critics and historians. Filmmaker Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner (the author, of course, of the classicAngels in America) pre-empted criticisms by historians, pronouncing their thanks for historical works (notably Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals) that inspired their re-imagining of this story. “You gave... Read more

by Stacy Dandridge  R3 Contributor The recent killing of Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old African American male, has brought to the surface feelings of anguish and concern for many African Americans around the nation. In recent months we have had to bury one of our sons, Trayvon Martin, who was murdered in his neighborhood by a crazed gunman who felt threatened by his presence. In the wake of Davis’ death, we have been reminded of the continuous problem with gun violence... Read more

We are please to announce the pastoral installation services of R3 contributor Earle Fisher. If you are in the Memphis area during the dates of celebration, he welcomes all to attend. Read more

by Elizabeth F. Desnoyers-Colas R3 Contributor In the early morning hours of December 1, America learned that another young African American child had been left behind, this time without having ever entered a classroom.  Three month old Zoey became an orphan when her father, National Football League Kansas City Chief’s linebacker Jovan Belcher killed the infant’s mother (his girlfriend) topping off this carnage by taking his own life less than an hour later.   Nationally, football fans and even nonfans havoeye remained riveted... Read more

A message from R3 Contributor Ebony A. Utley and the Utley Experience As 2012 comes to a close, I would like to thank everyone who made it an epic year for me. I appreciate each and every individual who attended Rap and Religion events, granted interviews, purchased, perused, or skimmed my book, and provided virtual as well as brick and mortar forums for me to discuss my newest ideas. I sincerely hope 2013 will bring all of you even more... Read more

The difference between the politics of the church and the real world of party politics is that in the church people are nice to each other in public and nasty to each other in private, whereas in real politics it’s often the other way round. But the church is so dysfunctional that it prefers the rhetoric of unity to its reality. Thus those debating female bishops in General Synod fell over backwards to couch their speeches in terms of generosity.... Read more