What is happening in Evangelical land?
Former World Relief employee says the relief agency rescinded his job offer because he is in a same-sex marriage. We will see what happens here, but World Relief, as a religious organization, should have the right to hire based upon its religious convictions about marriage.
Albert Mohler is mad that Joe Biden is playing the “identity politics” card by announcing that he would be selecting a Black woman to the Supreme Court. Mohler writes: “President Biden said as a way of gaining political traction and influence, that he would make history by appointing the first black woman ever nominated to the Supreme Court. He said that back before he was elected. Now just consider what that means in moral and constitutional terms. It means that President Biden said, in the course of making that promise, that he is going to isolate out a very small percentage of the potential judges or candidates for this kind of nomination in order to make a statement, a statement about representation.” Mohler then throws a few bones to his base by referencing “intersectionality,” “Critical Race Theory,” and “identity politics” (as if his soft Christian nationalism is not a form of “identity politics”). I have several thoughts about this. First, I wonder if Mohler ever thought that Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville’s faculty was getting too white and as a result sought to fulfill an open position with a man of color. We know that women cannot teach at Southern, but I wonder if Mohler ever pre-meditatively thought he was going to go after a faculty member of color in order to expand the diversity of the faculty to reflect more fully the kingdom of God. If he has done this, one would think he would understand Biden’s decision. If he has done this, it would also mean that some qualified white men would be disqualified based on the color of their skin. Second, I wonder why it is the evangelical leaders from Southern institutions with a history of racism who are always the ones complaining about things like this. Third, I wonder if Mohler knows that both Donald Trump (who he voted for in 2020) and Ronald Reagan announced in advance that they would be choosing a woman to the Supreme Court. Trump said this about Amy Coney Barrett and Reagan said this about Sandra Day O’Connor. This means that Trump and Reagan were ignoring qualified white male candidates. I didn’t hear a peep from Mohler when Trump did this. There were no tirades against intersectionality, identity politics, or gender studies. Here is Mohler’s tweet:
Tony Perkins of Family Research Council is also complaining about this. So is Ben Carson:
This has been true since George Whitefield, the man who Harry Stout called the first American celebrity, emerged on the scene in the late 1730s:
Another World Relief leader is criticizing Florida governor Ron DeSantis for blocking “the issuance and renewal of state licenses for organizations that serve unaccompanied migrant children, including many faith-based organization.”
Interesting piece on “pastor-influencers” in Black evangelical churches.
Former Southern Baptist Convention president J.D. Greear goes after the Southern Baptist “right” in a chapel talk at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pick it up at the 35 minute mark:
The movie “Redeeming Love” has put the book Redeeming Love back to the top of the evangelical bestseller list. I also notice that The Shack is still up there. It was released in 2008:
As Russell Moore notes, Jerry Falwell Jr. was not a hypocrite. As the recent Vanity Fair piece reveals, he probably never believed anything Liberty University stood for in the first place. Terry Mattingly argues that Falwell Jr. is “hanging a lantern” in the Vanity Fair piece.
The sarcasm here is noted. But Biden realized his sin and apologized to Steve Doocy:
Did you ever notice that when you search the Internet for Bible study resources “nine out of ten” of the links the search engine feeds you are from conservative evangelical websites? Mark Wingfield explains.
Robert Jeffress is still telling his congregation to get the COVID-19 vaccine: According to The Atlantic, Jeffress believes that there is no credible religious argument against the COVID vaccines, and has even hosted vaccine clinics in his own church.” Nice work, Bob!
Blast from the past:
Religion Dispatches is on a small crusade against evangelical sharing their faith, suggesting that “proselytizing” is not just “another form of persuasion.” I assume they mean people on the street corner getting getting in your face trying to force their views down your throat. If this is what they mean by “proselytizing,” I also have a problem with it, but I will defend anyone’s right to do it. If they mean sharing one’s faith in a civil way (I prefer it to be done in the context of already existing relationship), evangelicals have both a legal right and a spiritual mandate (we call it “The Great Commission”) to do so. As Paul told the Corinthians, “we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”
This guy has been tweeting the same think about George Marsden for the last two weeks and I have no idea what it means. The article does not seem to be responding to anything Marsden wrote. Is this a bot of some kind? Just curious:
Colorado Springs will soon surpass Denver as the largest city in Colorado. Will it remain a bastion of evangelical Christianity?
Funny:
Heather Greene compares evangelical conspiracy theories to the “Satanic Panic” of the 1970s and 1980s. I remember some of those days. I still can’t listen to “Hotel California” or “Stairway to Heaven” without thinking about them.
I teach my students that when they read a source they should always think about what the source is saying and what the source is doing. This tweet from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary president Daniel Akin is saying that a study found that alcohol consumption causes cancer. But what is this tweet doing? In order to answer that question you need to know something about Akin and the culture of Southern Baptists. It requires the historical thinking skill of context:
I think the same could be said for this James Robison tweet:
Grand Canyon University, a Christian college in Arizona, just sold off its $1.2 billion debt. Last time I checked, Grand Canyon was in a neck and neck battle with Liberty University for the largest Christian college in the world.
Interesting how things have changed:
Georgia governor Brian Kemp is reading John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World.
Franklin Graham is pro-Canada convoy:
I think you can be pro-life and opposed to Roe v. Wade WITHOUT being a “Christian dominionist.” But a lot of pro-lifers collapse their anti-abortion views into their effort to reclaim America for Christ. The latter seems to be taking place in Mississippi.
The same “jurisdictions of government” that Rick Green is talking about here allowed slavery, racism, Jim Crow, and segregation to flourish in the South. There is so much wrong here. Hitler wasn’t a Marxist. I also want to know more about what Brody means by the “Marxists who were coming into the country.” And, I might add, there was never a time when American children understood civics in the way Brody and Green are talking about the subject in this video. Watch:
Anti-trafficking ministries are battling QAnon conspiracy theories. No, Wayfair is not selling missing children and kids are not being smuggled through tunnels under New York City.
Lance being Lance:
Several Christian colleges are growing during the pandemic, including Northwestern (IA), Grace College (IN), Colorado Christian (CO), York College (NE), and Oklahoma Christian University.
T.D. Jakes’s daughter is getting divorced.