It’s November 15th, and I’m still not quite sure how I feel about evangelicalism — and my place in it — seven days after an election in which 81% of the white evangelicals who cast ballots opted for Donald Trump. For one thing, we’re getting analysis of the vote more sophisticated than what we saw from exit polls in the heat … More A Week Later… Evangelicalism
One way or another, it’s clear that white evangelical support for Donald Trump is the biggest religion-and-politics story to come out of the election. But as a former student pointed out to me yesterday, that’s not the only Christian group that might have some soul-searching to do. Now, this is preliminary analysis of exit polls, and such … More It’s Not Just Evangelicals…
Back in March, when Donald Trump was nothing more than the surprise leader in the Republican primaries, the fact that he was getting even 40% of the self-identified “evangelical” vote had already led Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore to declare that religious term “almost meaningless this year.” Even worse, “in many ways the word itself … More Done with “Evangelical”? Maybe You Should Try…
One more parable, also from Mark 4: Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. … More Parables: Roots
Theologians, historians, sociologists, and other scholars spill a lot of ink debating the definition of the term “evangelical.” But thanks to what happened on November 8, 2016, we can set aside the Bebbington Quadrilateral and all its rivals. At least as “evangelical” pertains to Americans of European descent, it’s now clear that it chiefly describes the voting … More Who’s an “Evangelical”? We Now Know…
“Who’s Beth Moore?” I didn’t say it out loud, fortunately. But that’s what I asked myself a few years ago when I saw the list of upcoming small group Bible studies at my church. Beth Moore, of course, is the best-selling author of Bible studies and other books, not one of which I’ve read. Ditto the works … More Women as Evangelical Leaders (But Not Pastors)
Because it was written by a Jesuit in a Jesuit magazine, I suspect that most evangelicals haven’t read James Martin’s “A Two-Way Bridge,” a lecture given to a Catholic LGBT group that was published over the weekend at the website for America. That’s a shame, since his first paragraph could be addressed to evangelicals with some simple … More A Two-Way Bridge: Sexuality, Evangelicals, and Christian Higher Ed
Here… • As always, the 2016 meeting of the Conference on Faith and History planted the seeds for lots of posts. A first reflection took on CFH president Jay Green’s question: will historians who themselves feel rather ambivalent about evangelicalism contend for evangelical identity? • Registration opened for the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism, coming December 13th. • … More That Was The Week That Was
One of the highlights of the 2016 meeting of the Conference on Faith and History was Jay Green’s presidential address, “Evangelical Historiography, Evangelical Identity, and the Spiritual Vision of History.” Like many of his predecessors, Jay offered an erudite, thought-provoking reflection on the past, present, and future of a professional society whose “primary goal is … More Should Evangelical Historians Contend for Evangelical Identity?
Here… • I’m mostly past worrying about pageviews, but if you missed my observations about the past and politics in southwestern Virginia… I do think it deserves more attention than it got. • But more importantly, Andy Crouch’s Trump editorial in Christianity Today got a huge readership. • Reader Sean O’Neil suggested that Christian intellectuals are actually planting some important seeds during … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 