Some would adamantly disagree that white evangelicalism has, in any way, "gone wrong." (It's those liberal mainline Protestants who went wrong, doncha know, with their fancy seminaries and their Darwinism and whatnot.) But the more important and more interesting disagreement is among those who perceive that, yes, white evangelicalism has gone wrong, but who approach what that means in two very different ways. Read more
The Southern Baptist Convention has passed an official resolution on racism. I'm happy to report that they're against it. Alas, they also demonstrated that they don't understand what it is they're against and up against, or what it will mean for them to oppose it in substance and not just in rhetoric. Read more
Today’s protest anthem and Monday morning open thread comes courtesy of U2. But is that protest or is it lamentation? Yes. (The melody here is pretty old — over 30 years at this point. The lyrics are, of course, much older. Bono and David are both among my problematic faves.) Read more
"O Lord, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve! O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?" Read more
There would be, post-Event, some kind of ritualized exchange that would acknowledge this common ground of loss and bewilderment, some way of asking and answering the “where were you when?” and “who did you lose?” questions. Nothing like this ever happens post-Rapture with any of the characters in Left Behind. Read more
Resolutions and the votes on them tend to get reported as official Southern Baptist pronouncements -- as analogous to papal encyclicals or edicts issued by the bishops of formal denominational churches. That's misleading. These resolutions don't present official denominational dogma because there is no official denomination. Read more
Ben Wikler of MoveOn wrote a helpful Twitter thread recently on why it's a really bad idea to call multiple members of Congress pretending to be a constituent of theirs. That's a very specific bit of advice about one very specific thing. But it is not only that. Read more
Ralph Reed avoided prison for his role in the Jack Abramoff casino-lobbying scandal. That's the best you can say for him. He managed to participate in Abramoff's schemes and scams, and to get very rich doing so, yet somehow skated by as an unindicted co-conspirator. Read more
Today’s protest anthem and Monday morning open thread comes courtesy of Ms. Nina Simone: “They keep on sayin’ ‘go slow,’ but that’s just the trouble …” Read more
"Give We, the People, your justice, O God. ... May we defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor." Read more
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