This week I responded to the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, asked if that event would bring about a kind of epiphany for Trump-backing evangelicals, considered the history of pastor-politicians like new Georgia senator Raphael Warnock, shared some of the autobiographical subtext for my biography of Charles Lindbergh, and wrapped up my Christmas devotional … More That Was The Week That Was
I considered whether I was an evangelical, responded to an astonishing editorial by evangelicalism’s flagship publication, and considered how religion factors into two British institutions: the monarchy (kind of) and the Premier League. Elsewhere: • A handful of the many other responses to that Christianity Today editorial calling for Donald Trump to be removed from office: Michael Wear … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • Why I think that women, African Americans, and other Christians can help to “evangelize evangelicalism.” • It’s not much to look at, but my faculty office is actually important to me. …There (Anxious Bench)… • Like millions of others around the world, I watched the royal wedding live. Unlike all of them, I … More That Was The Week That Was
Tomorrow night I’ll be in Chicago making the case that Pietism might help renew evangelicalism. That assumes, of course, that evangelicalism can be renewed. Or that we have any idea who “evangelicals” are. I’m going to proceed as planned with the talk, but a new report from the Pew Research Center has me a bit more skeptical … More The Strength of White Evangelical Support for Trump
Calling out Christian college presidents isn’t really how I wanted to spend Advent, but then I didn’t expect one such leader to devote part of a chapel talk to encouraging his students to carry concealed weapons. But that’s just what Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. did on Friday, two days after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. In a … More The Shadow of Death: A Response to Jerry Falwell, Jr.
I’m not an evangelical who retreats from the label “evangelical.” But the results of a survey released today by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) have me feeling embarrassed and angry about my branch of the Christian family. In the 2015 edition of its annual American Values Survey, PRRI asked about a number of topics, but coming a day … More Evangelical Islamophobia
London has become my favorite city in the world, but Paris was the first outside of my native land where I spent any significant amount of time, and it retains a special hold on my imagination. The last time I was there was January — just a week after the Charlie Hebdo attacks… And now a day … More Paris
In recognition of Veterans/Remembrance Day, Fletcher Warren and I are proud today to unveil the final version of Bethel at War, 1914-2014: A Digital History of a Christian College in a Century of Warfare. Whether you’re a Bethel alumnus, student, or employee, a member of its denomination, someone who’s interested in the histories of higher education, Christianity (especially … More At Long Last, the Official Debut of Bethel at War, 1914-2014!
Recent months have seen increased coverage of Muslim radicals in the Middle East, presidential statements about what is and what is not “real” Islam, and new articles on where groups like ISIS fit in the Muslim faith, if at all. I have also just finished teaching a class called “Islam, Politics, and the Middle East.” So this … More Why We Need to Stop Trying to Identify “True” Islam
One of the joys of teaching is having the chance to talk about great books with bright students. I enjoy teaching few books more than John Merriman’s The Dynamite Club, the story of a young French anarchist named Émile Henry, who detonated a bomb in a crowded Paris café in 1894. And I’ve taught no … More The Dynamite Club (Fletcher Warren)
The Pietist Schoolman 