What is happening in Evangelical land? Rick Warren vs. the Southern Baptist Convention: A guide. What is an evangelical? 92% of white evangelicals say there are only 2 genders. Brazil’s “March for Jesus“ Hours before he will preside over the […]
Archives for June 2023
Disney people vs. Shakespeare people
Disney fans can learn from Shakespeare fans. Lately people are upset with the Walt Disney Company pretty frequently. If we limit ourselves to the complaints about films, we can observe that it’s often about movie remakes. Some people are unhappy […]
José Figueres and the Costa Rican Path of Peace
In the midst of civil war, an unusual alternative changed a nation
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Historian Peter Brown’s 700 page memoir. And here. And here. E.J. Dionne: Trump’s indictment is “imperative for justice” Did Martha Washington have a Black grandson? Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral […]
Rick Warren vs. the Southern Baptist Convention: A guide to understanding the controversy
On Tuesday, the country will be focused on the historic federal indictment of a United States president. But 12,000 Southern Baptists in New Orleans will be listening to a three-minute speech by one of the most popular megachurch pastors in […]
Episode 111: “The Evangelical Battle Over the End Times”
If you want to learn more about the evangelical fascination with the rapture, Israel, the antichrist, and the prophetic books of the Bible you will enjoy this episode. Our guest is Daniel Hummel, author of The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: […]
Trump is indicted. Historians weigh-in.
Here is CNN: “The former president faces his first federal indictment for retention of classified documents and conspiracy with a top aide to hide them from the government and his own attorneys — a total of 37 counts.” Read an […]
When Dorothy Day met Ignazio Silone
The Catholic socialist Dorothy Day was a fan of Italian (also Catholic, to an extent) writer Iganzio Silone. She wrote about meeting Silone as part of January 1, 1968 piece in The Catholic Worker: In wrestling with the problem of […]
More evangelical responses to the Trump indictment
Donald Trump is the first president in United States history to face a federal indictment. How are some of his most loyal followers responding? (We published some earlier responses last night). Speaker of the House: MAGA worship leader: Paula White […]
Trump: “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this!”
Last night we learned that the Department of Justice will indict Donald Trump on Tuesday. At this point the DOJ has not released the indictment. This morning CNN is reporting that Trump admitted on tape that he didn’t declassify “secret […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Arena blog:
The Author’s Corner with Tamson Pietsch
Tamson Pietsch is Associate Professor in Social and Political Sciences and Director of the Australian Centre for Public History at the University of Technology Sydney. This interview is based on her new book, The Floating University: Experience, Empire, and the […]
Boyhood Revisited
There’s more than one way to play with time
Plants and blogs
Every once and a while over the years, a well-meaning friend will gift me a plant. The beautiful living gift is usually accompanied by words of assurance: “it is so easy to take care of it” or “it’s truly unkillable” […]
GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson urges Trump to end his campaign
Here is the statement from the former Arkansas governor:
Court evangelical Robert Jeffress claims he just texted Trump: “There are millions of Christians praying for you right now”
A Southern Baptist once told me that the most dangerous place in the Southern Baptist Convention is between Robert Jeffress and a camera. The pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas does not seem phased by the Trump federal […]
Trump indicted on seven counts in the Mar-a-Lago documents case
No word yet from the Department of Justice, but Trump just wrote this on his “Truth Social” platform: No United States president has faced a federal indictment. Here is CNN: Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the special counsel’s classified […]
Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức and the journalist who photographed him
We’ve all seen the image. Over at Zocalo Public Square historian Ray Boomhower tells us more about the photographer, Malcolm W. Browne. Here is a taste: While President John F. Kennedy was talking by phone with his brother, U.S. Attorney […]
“Saudi Arabia just bought professional golf”
Here is the editorial board of The Washington Post: When the Saudi-backed LIV Golf was trying, early last year, to attract the PGA Tour’s top players, the legacy organization implied it would never align itself with a kingdom trying to […]
Pat Robertson (1930-2023)
I am sure we will have more to say about Robertson death in the coming days. Here is the Associated Press: Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a […]