GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is opposed to the commission. So are 176 of his fellow Republican representatives. But nearly 20% of the GOP caucus joined all 219 Democrats in supporting the commission. The bill now moves to the Senate where, […]
Archives for May 2021
What was the relationship between the Tom Hanks movie “Sully” and the 2016 election?
Court evangelical extraordinaire Ralph Reed talks with The Atlantic‘s Emma Green about how he responded to the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape and his larger support of Donald Trump. This is a really revealing interview. It shows that for Ralph Reed, […]
“Does teaching America it’s racist make it less racist?”
Here is a fascinating discussion between Jane Coaston, John McWhorter, and Michelle Goldberg. A taste: Jane Coaston: Critical race theory. It’s a concept that originated in academic circles in the mid-1970s, but one that only hit the mainstream in the […]
A 107-year-old survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre testified before Congress
Here is NPR’s “All Things Considered”: The day that a white mob came to Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Okla., Viola Fletcher was just 7 years old. During emotional testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Fletcher, who is now 107, recalled […]
Evangelical Roundup for May 20, 2021
What is going on in Evangelicalland? Eric Metaxas interviews Os Guiness about his new book. I have not read the book yet, but will try to get to it soon. It sounds like the same stuff Guinness was pushing a year […]
Reading George Marsden with Gen Z
If the cultural détente of the 1990s seems like a dream, Marsden’s outrageous idea retains its force
John Marshall Harlan: The lone dissenter in Plessy v. Ferguson
Here is Peter Canellos at The New York Times. His forthcoming book is titled The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, American Judicial Hero. A taste: The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, announced 125 years ago Tuesday, […]
Who are the people holding us back from full vaccination and where do they live?
According to Dr. Sema Sgaier at The New York Times, they fall into four categories: Covid Skeptics: They are the least likely to get vaccinated and most believe in some kind of conspiracy theory related to the vaccine. They are […]
Does your church have a racist past?
Check out Mark Wingfield’s piece at Baptist World Global titled “What to do if you unearth a history of slavery in your church, college, or institution?” Here’s a taste: With increasing attention to the roots of American slavery in religious […]
Some early reaction to Russell Moore’s move to Christianity Today
Get up to speed here. Brian Zahnd being Brian Zahnd: Radical subjectivist Ed Stetzer? Not sure what this means. Sounds like some pretty intense SBC inside baseball: I will try to add some more throughout the day. Check back. UPDATE: […]
Obama on UFOs and aliens “When it comes to aliens, there are some things I just can’t tell you on air”
This is hilarious:
Revisiting The Soul of the American University
In the midst of commodification and conflict, the university pushes on—with or without its soul
Russell Moore leaves his Southern Baptist post. Joins Christianity Today
This was bound to happen sooner or later. Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, is leaving his post to head-up a new public theology program at Christianity Today. There are a lot […]
The New Republic postpones religion and politics forum. Replaces Eric Metaxas with Peter Wehner
Last month I did a few posts on how The New Republic magazine was providing a platform for evangelical Trumper and conspiracy theorist Eric Metaxas. On April 5, 2021, I wrote about The New Republic‘s decision to publish a “debate” […]
Are we in the midst of a third American revolution?
CNN legal scholar Carrie Cordero and historian Ed Larson at USA Today: We are all familiar with the first American Revolution: an actual war, a rebellion for self-governance. But it was not long after that Thomas Jefferson called the election of 1800 […]
Franklin Graham: GET THE VACCINE!
Here is Franklin and Wolf Blitzer: Graham says he would be glad to help the Biden administration reach anti-vaxxer evangelicals.
A Third Reconstruction?
Matt Ford gives us a lot to think about in this piece at The New Republic. titled “Our 250-Year Fight for Multiracial Democracy.” A taste: Some scholars and activists, by the same token, break down American history into presidencies or […]
Episode 5: The Christian Right
In the 1980s and 1990s, conservative evangelical politics fused with the GOP. How did it happen? Episode 5: “The Christian Right” dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above receive this brand new narrative history podcast. Here is a […]
Live-tweeting PBS’s Billy Graham documentary
As a historian of American evangelicalism, I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s PBS documentary “Billy Graham: Prayer. Politics. Power.” As as an evangelical Christian, I also enjoyed it. Billy Graham’s message–the Good News–changed my life. I will always have a deep […]
Trumping Truth
Which side is really telling The Big Lie? There’s only one way to find out.