Our annual Thanksgiving tradition here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home.  I wrote this Inside Higher Ed piece on gratitude in November 2008. I have had to remind myself of this piece a lot in the last couple of years.–JF It was a typical […]
Eric Metaxas: “Spokesperson for election fraud conspiracies and an evangelist for a politicized God who would support going to battle for Donald Trump”
“On the Media” podcast tackles Eric Metaxas and Salem Media. It’s well done. The first episode shows how Salem radio hosts who refused to promote Trump were fired from the network. Ben Shapiro (once an anti-Trumper), Joe Walsh, and Michael […]
Allen Guelzo and Jon Meacham at Gettysburg’s Remembrance Day Ceremony
It wasn’t just about Confederates reenactors. Watch:
Is National Conservatism Christian?
Over at The Bulwark, historian Joshua Tait writes, “Christianity’s emphasis on forgiveness, suffering, the meek and poor runs totally counter to the tendencies of the New Right and National Conservatism. Here is a taste of his piece: Within National Conservative […]
David French’s civic pluralism versus Al Mohler’s Christian nationalism
Last week, the Senate advanced the Respect for Marriage Act. The bill legalizes (“provides statutory authority” for) same-sex and interracial marriages. Here is a summary of the bill from Congress.Gov: Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for […]
Confederates at Gettysburg
I was going to take some students in my Civil War America course to Gettysburg this weekend. They were excited about going to the cemetery and reading the Gettysburg Address on November 19, the day it was delivered by Lincoln […]
“Jack Smith makes me look like a golden retriever puppy”Â
When I first saw this image (above) of the Justice Department’s new special counsel to investigate Donald Trump I thought it was a joke. Why did Merrick Garland appoint Coach Beard from Ted Lasso to prosecute Trump? But it looks […]
Evangelical roundup for November 21, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land? Mike Huckabee is fired-up about global poverty CBS: American evangelicals and the antiabortion movement in Israel. Evangelicals respond to the possible end of Twitter. Did Trump “use” evangelicals? Election denier David Brody is starting […]
A former Liberty University Dean claims the school fired him after he reported “foul play,” “troubling concerns,” and violations of Christian ethics
John Robert Markley is a Liberty University graduated who worked at the Christian school as an assessment coordinator, New Testament professor, and, most recently, Administrative Dean for Academic Operations. He claims that when, beginning in 2018, he blew the whistle […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Three cheers for university presses A former Bob Jones University student in the wake of the attempted fundamentalist coup Chestnuts roasting on an open fire Former Christian Right leader Rob […]
Are you reading Current?
Happy Thanksgiving! As 2022 winds to a close, I hope you have enjoyed our feature offerings this year at Current. In recent days we have published: Editor Eric Miller’s moving review of Wendell Berry’s new work of fiction. Miller writes: […]
More responses to the death of Michael Gerson
I commented on the death of the former Bush speechwriter and Washington Post columnist here. We also linked to the PBS Newshour tribute. A few more responses: Daniel Silliman reporting at Christianity Today: He gave Bush’s speeches about compassionate conservatism […]
Court evangelical James Robison: Trump acted “like a little elementary schoolchild”
The Washington Post is covering a speech by the seventy-nine-year-old James Robison at the November 16 meeting of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers. Read the Post piece here. According to its website, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL) […]
The PBS News Hour remembers Michael Gerson
I wrote my own reflection here. RIP.
Staughton Lynd, 1929-2022
We brought Staughton Lynd’s death to your attention yesterday. We now have an obituary. Here is the New York Times: Staughton Lynd, a historian and lawyer who over a long and varied career organized schools for Black children in Mississippi, […]
Zakaria: The GOP must purge Trump
Do the results of the 2022 midterm elections represent a serious wound, if not a mortal wound, to Donald Trump and Trumpism? Not really. Take the issue of election denial. Kari Lake lost her gubernatorial bid in Arizona, but the […]
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:
The Truth and Beauty of Michael Gerson’s Words
Remembering a real compassionate conservative
Staughton Lynd, RIP
I haven’t found an obituary yet, but Twitter is reporting that the activist-historian/historian-activist has died at the age of 92. I am sure we will have a few more things to say about Staughton Lynd‘s death in the coming days, […]
Why last night’s Mike Pence interview was so hard to watch
In case you missed it, CNN hosted a townhall conversation with former vice president Mike Pence. Jake Tapper hosted the event and Pence took questions from the audience. Pence is clearly positioning himself for a presidential run in 2024 and […]