Here is Kate Shellnut at Christianity Today: The issue that once dominated Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meetings—sexual abuse in churches—almost receded into the background at this year’s gathering, which was overrun by debates around women serving as pastors. Only […]
Archives for June 2023
The Author’s Corner with Warren C. Riess
Warren C. Riess is Associate Research Professor Emeritus at the University of Maine. This interview is based on his new book, Studying the Princess Carolina: Anatomy of the Ship That Held Up Wall Street (Texas A&M University Press, 2023). JF: […]
Evangelical roundup for June 15, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Happy Birthday to my favorite evangelical Christian–Joy Fea! See our coverage of the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention here and here and here and here and here and here. Harvard Magazine features […]
Separation Anxiety
On the matter of public schooling, David French mistakes state authority for religious liberty
Politics and education
What is the purpose of education? That’s a big question, perhaps too big for an Arena blog post, but I wish to offer a few thoughts. We live in a day of “education wars.” C.S. Lewis uses this following stanza […]
Will more congregations with women pastors leave the Southern Baptist Convention?
It appears the answer is yes. Here is a press release from First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Georgia: Dear Church Family, Our storied congregation has, throughout its history, partnered with organizations that complement the unique identity and work of First […]
What happened on day 2 of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting?
Some of the best religion reporters in the business are in New Orleans this week. Here is what they have to say about what happened on the second and final day of the meeting. These tweets are (roughly) in chronological […]
Christian nationalist worship leader Sean Feucht takes communion in the U.S. Capitol
Christian nationalists take historic Christian rites like the Lord’s Supper and use them to advance American nationalism. This is blasphemy. I told a reporter today that Christian nationalism is not a religious movement, it is a political movement. It is […]
“This is going to be an inquisition now”: Rick Warren responds to the SBC vote to keep Saddleback Church out of the denomination
Get up to speed here. Watch: Warren also got into politics. Here are some snippets: “We lost. I wasn’t expecting to win…We actually had about 700 more votes than I figured we’d get….” “The SBC is a democracy and in […]
Southern Baptists will not allow Rick Warren and Saddleback Church back into the fold
Here is Michelle Boorstein at The Washington Post: Thousands of Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly to affirm the expulsion of Saddleback Church, the epitome for decades of a modern conservative evangelical megachurch, because Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren ordained women, Southern Baptist […]
The Author’s Corner with Sean M. Kelley
Sean M. Kelley is Professor of History at the University of Essex. This interview is based on his new book, American Slavers: Merchants, Mariners, and the Transatlantic Commerce in Captives, 1644-1865 (Yale University Press, 2023). JF: What led you to […]
Ideas in Progress: Rick Kennedy on teaching, writing, and sailing
Today’s interview is with Rick Kennedy, Professor of History at Point Loma Nazarene University, and the author of a number of books and articles on topics as wide-ranging as the history of logic, mathematics, architecture, astronomy, education, historiography, and Christian […]
INTERVIEW: George Marsden on His Return to Jonathan Edwards
Edwards helps us sense the dynamic beauty of God at the heart of reality
What happened on day 1 of the 2023 Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting?
Some of the best religion reporters in the business are in New Orleans this week. Here is what they have to say about what happened on the first day of the meeting. These tweets are (roughly) in chronological order (morning […]
Rick Warren vs. Al Mohler on the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans (video)
Get up to speed here Here’s how it all went down: As far as I can tell, a decision has yet to be made on whether Saddleback will return to the Southern Baptist Convention. (6:32pm). In other Southern Baptist Convention […]
Liberty University whistleblower, a former dean, offers more detail
Here is Hannah McClellan at Christianity Today: Four months after Liberty University filed a motion to dismiss a whistleblower’s lawsuit, the former dean suing the school amended his complaint with more detail about the alleged fraud he reported to authorities. He alleges […]
The Author’s Corner with Aniko Bodroghkozy
Aniko Bodroghkozy is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. This interview is based on her new book, Making #Charlottesville: Media from Civil Rights to Unite the Right (University of Virginia Press, 2023). JF: What led you to […]
Welcome to Pottersville
Back at the dawn of this century, writer Gary Kamiya penned one of the most arresting meditations on America I know. It was hard to tell just how tongue-in-cheek “All hail Pottersville!” was. The setting of George Bailey’s nightmare vision […]
REVIEW: A Brave New FeminismÂ
Human wellbeing requires a reassessment of “progress”
The Author’s Corner with Bart Elmore
Bart Elmore is Professor of Environmental History at The Ohio State University. This interview is based on his new book, Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet (University of North Carolina Press, 2023). […]