Here is Nichols at The Atlantic: Let’s begin with the granddaddy of them all, the stop-motion puppet show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Produced by the team of Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass in 1964, Rudolph became an industry, spawning toys and collectibles and […]
Archives for December 2021
Why is Christmas on December 25th?
Messiah University history graduate and historian of early Christianity Andrew Henry explains at his web show “Religion for Breakfast“:
The threat of Omicron
Ed Yong of The Atlantic is a trusted source on all things COVID-19. He believes that America is not yet ready for Omicron. Here is a taste of his recent piece: The real unknown is what an Omicron cross will […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Daniel Gulotta and Thomas Lecaque, The Great QAnon Disappointment Daniel K. Williams, Cynical Political Moves Are Not the Best Way to Overturn Roe v. Wade Rob Vaughn, Christmas Transcendence Jay […]
From the archives: “Was There a Golden Age of Christmas in America?”
This piece first appeared in the Pacific Standard (now defunct) on December 11, 2011 —JF The so-called “War on Christmas” has reared its ugly head again. Conservative Christians—most of them evangelicals—have hit the airwaves and lecture circuits to warn their […]
Why Evangelicalism Continues to Inspire Me with Hope
Is evangelical Christianity in trouble? It all depends on where you look.
A conservative defends critical race theory
I spent a day with Washington Post columnist Gary Abernathy at Messiah College right before the pandemic hit. Read about it here. Since then I have read him regularly. His recent column on critical race theory is worth your time. […]
Haiti missionaries released
This is great news and an answer to prayer. Here is the Miami Herald: A Haiti gang has released all 12 hostages two months to the day that they were kidnapped in Haiti’s capital, Haiti National Police Spokesman Garry Desrosiers […]
Should Joe Biden run again?
Over at The New York Times, Bret Stephens thinks Biden will be too old (86 at the end of his second term) to serve a second term. I really don’t have a strong opinion about this, but I do hope […]
Hey Bruce Springsteen, I know a little online magazine that you can help fund!
We love Bruce Springsteen at Current (or at least the Executive Editor and the Instagram coordinator do!). Here is Spin: In a year where many legendary artists sold their publishing rights, Bruce Springsteen may have topped them all. Billboard is reporting that the Boss […]
The Author’s Corner with John Sacher
John Sacher is Associate Professor of History at the University of Central Florida. This interview is based on his new book, Confederate Conscriptions and the Struggle for Southern Soldiers (LSU Press, 2021). JF: What led you to ​write Confederate Conscription and […]
Evangelical roundup for December 16, 2021
What is happening in Evangelical land: How long will American evangelicals support Israel? Tony Perkins believes that the attack on January 6th was the same as the Black Lives Matter protests. As Sean Hannity recently confirmed, this is now a […]
John Lennon and the Ghost of Culture Wars Future
Peter Jackson’s new documentary transports us back to a radically different world—one that feels strangely familiar
Trump will celebrate Christmas at First Baptist Church-Dallas
And I am sure he will get a warm welcome from court evangelical Robert Jeffress. Here is the Dallas Morning News: Former President Donald Trump returns to friendly Texas turf Sunday in Dallas at the American Airlines Center to talk […]
Sorry Sean Hannity, the January 6 insurrection was different than other riots
Watch Sean Hannity desperately try to save his brand. At least he’s got Dan Bongino is in his corner: Hannity believes that the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol was the equivalent of hundreds of other riots. This is […]
Desegregating bowling alleys
Check out Ashawnta Jackson’s piece at JSTOR Daily: In 1968, students from South Carolina State College, a historically Black college in Orangeburg, attempted to enter a segregated bowling alley in town. The alley was closed by police for the night. […]
Associated Press: There was no voter fraud in the 2020 election
The AP examined “every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states.” Here is a taste of Christina Cassiday’s piece: An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by […]
Reinhold Niebuhr: “in a given instance the principle of freedom may have to yield to the necessities of social cohesion, requiring a measure of coercion.”
Here is Reinhold Niebuhr in Moral Man and Immoral Society. He wrote this book in 1932: Society may believe that the preservation of freedom of opinion is a social good, not because liberty of thought is an inherent or natural […]
Can Mark Meadows be any more inept?
Who is Mark Meadows? He has an Associate of Arts degree from the University of South Florida. He got involved in real estate and in 2016 sold 134 acres of land in Dinosaur, Colorado to Ken Ham, the founder of […]
BOOK MARKS: Don’t Miss Any High Spots
“Thanks again for the Merry Christmas. Best of everything in 1960 to you and yours.”