White evangelicals are looking to Donald Trump as a kind of modern-day Cyrus the Great. Cyrus was the ungodly king who restored the people of Israel and gave them back their country after the exile. Trump, these Christians believe, is the ungodly king who will end their long exile of life under a black president, giving white folks back "their" land. Read more
Sarah Posner on why apocalyptic American Christians are not "friends of Israel." Heather Havrilesky on true romance. Julie Rodgers on Wheaton. Edmund N. Santurri's crash-course on Reinhold Niebuhr. And Broderick Greer guides us into Lent. Read more
What we're seeing here is a failure of, as Gushee says, "moral formation." When one student fails the final exam, the fault may lie with that student. When the entire class fails the final exam, the fault lies with the professor. And when we see a massive failure of moral formation on the scale of what we're seeing with white evangelical support for Trump, the fault lies with the entire faculty, the entire curriculum, and the culture of the entire school. Read more
Bruce Barnes died at the end of the previous book. Now, some 300 pages and several weeks of story-time later, his body is wheeled out for his memorial service. Where has Bruce Barnes been all this time? That's really two questions, one logistical, the other theological. And the authors don't seem to have given much thought to either one. Read more
A return to the gold standard would be disastrous, but it clearly would also produce a massive "end-time transfer of wealth." And the weirdest thing is that I'm not accusing Ted Cruz of planning that, I'm just pointing out that he's telling us that's what he has planned. Read more
If I abdicate my direct responsibilities, I will end up placing a heavier burden on those with indirect responsibilities -- forcing them to play a more direct role. If I neglect my indirect responsibilities, I will end up placing a heavier burden on those who bear a more direct responsibility -- possibly causing them to fall under the weight of it. Read more
Undefined, undifferentiated pronouns are always the hallmark of someone who doesn't understand subsidiarity. Define and differentiate those antecedents and you begin to appreciate the inescapable necessity of subsidiarity, the bonds of mutuality and the direct and indirect functions that all have in relationship to all. Ben Carson shows us the alternative to that -- which involves teaching babies to change their own diapers. Read more
RIP Harper Lee, and thanks for the book. Plus: Mallory and Moltmann, Mullica and Munchkins, Blood Moon lunacy, good news from Connecticut, real estate in Atlantis, and more creative ways to screw over poor people. Read more
"If your week began on an overnight flight to London and that flight was interrupted and rerouted to Chicago due to the still-unexplained disappearance of some 2 billion people, followed by scores of plane crashes around the world, rail disasters and untold death and mayhem, then you might take a moment to reflect on that a few days later as you once again boarded an overnight flight to London. Buck doesn't." Read more
Men get more prestige for having less knowledge. That can lead to them thinking they deserve it, and that can have consequences. Plus: A white sheriff is confused by "Formation;" a prequel I'd love to watch; the confirmation of Justice John Marshall; and a rabbinical koan. Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In