I appreciate the point John Fea is making in this post on “The Willow Creek Mess.” It’s well-observed and well-taken. In short, he was discussing a prominent figure from American history in a recent summer seminar for a group of grade-school history teachers. Because that prominent figure was a famous preacher and evangelist, the audience had a dismal expectation for how the man’s story would end, prompting one of the teachers to raise her hand with a question: “So what... Read more
There are no heroes working for CoreCivic, the incarceration-for-profit company that trades in human misery and sends taxpayers the bill. But there were heroes out there today throwing sand in the gears of its ugly machine. Read more
Anti-refugee attitudes are not due to a gap in American Christians' "education" or to some bit of information they've unwittingly overlooked. They're due to a fundamental failure of spiritual formation. Read more
White evangelicals usually think of themselves as Great Commission Christians, or at least they used to do so. But in 2018, it seems, a defining characteristic of white evangelicalism is fearful contempt toward people in or from "Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth." Read more
We don't have the time, expertise or equipment to plumb the full depths of LaHaye & Jenkins' misogyny in this scene. That would require a bathysphere, a team of psychiatrists, and a blogger with a stronger stomach than mine. Read more
I try to avoid doing this unless/until I need to but, well, I need to. If you are willing and able to support the work of this site, this would be an excellent time to make a small donation. Read more
Smarts from Rebecca Solnit, Stephen Kantrowitz, Liz Holtzman, and Terese Marie Mailhot. Plus, because it is his birthday, two from James Baldwin. Read more
"You have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?" Read more
It will not do to claim that someone like Sheila is merely ignorant. "How would YOU feel ...? she asks, and thus we know that she knows better. She knows. Her overwhelming fear proves that she knows. Read more
"The New Colossus" articulates much of what Donald Trump is incapable of understanding. He wants the old Colossus back, with its storied pomp and its conquering limbs and its long, powerful fingers. Read more
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