Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: John Fea, “Matthew McConaughey Goes Home“ Christine Bieber Lake, “Top Gun: The Joys We Can Imagine. The Joys We (Still) Can’t.“ John Fea, “The Trump Generation Is a Lost Cause.” […]
What is going on at Seattle Pacific University?
Back in May, Seattle Pacific students held a sit-in. Here is Alejandra Molina on June 3 at Religion News Service: For nearly two weeks, students from Seattle Pacific University, a Christian school associated with the Free Methodist Church, have staged […]
It’s time to step up, Mike. Do it for God and country!
Today the House January 6th Select Committee portrayed former vice-president Mike Pence as the savior of the republic. We learned that Pence refused to succumb to Donald Trump’s attempts to get him to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He and […]
The Southern Baptist Convention wraps-up another tumultuous annual meeting
I was recently speaking with someone who grew up as an evangelical pastor’s kid. This person described the chaos and division that took place at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting this week in Anaheim as “what happens in every […]
Calvin University faculty are “polishing their CVs” after the Christian Reformed Church codified its opposition to homosexual sex
The “polishing their CVs” quote comes from Calvin historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez. Here is a taste of Yonat Shimron’s piece at Religion News Service: The Christian Reformed Church, a small evangelical denomination of U.S. and Canadian churches, voted Wednesday […]
The Trump Generation Is a Lost Cause
The hope of American democracy depends on the long game
Reason accuses Princeton historian Kevin Kruse of plagiarism
Here is Phillip W. Magness at the libertarian magazine Reason: But a discovery from Kruse’s past may now put Princeton’s Twitter warrior under a microscope of his own, raising the question of whether he holds himself to the same standards […]
Day 1 of the 3-ring circus is over. The Southern Baptists elect a new president.
Anyone following the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting this week in Anaheim is witnessing a denomination in shambles. The Convention has a serious sexual abuse problem to deal with and not everyone agrees that there is a problem or how […]
Orthodox Presbyterian Church apologizes for racist remarks
Daniel Silliman has the story at Christianity Today. A taste: On Thursday afternoon, the proceedings were interrupted by a report from moderator David Nakhla, who said the General Assembly was in danger of getting kicked off the Eastern University campus […]
When do writers have time to write when they have to speak so much?
Someone recently told me that I need to write more like I talk. I think this person meant it as a compliment. I thought about that advice again after I read Beeca Rothfield recent piece at Gawker. I am by […]
Ohio governor Mike DeWine wants guns in classrooms
DeWine will probably sign a bill that will allow teachers to carry weapons in their classrooms after 24 hours of training. Here is NPR on Ohio House Bill 99: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is poised to sign a bill on […]
Dinesh D’Souza, a Christian apologist, calls Bill Barr an overweight, immobile, “Fatso.”
Dinesh D’Souza is the former president of a Christian College and the author of What is So Great About Christianity. He is also a financial huckster who needed a Trump pardon. His version of “Christian” politics was on full display […]
The Trump grift
At yesterday’s January 6th Select Committee hearing we learned that Donald Trump raised $250,000, 000 on the false belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Joe Biden. In other words, Trump not only lied to his followers, but […]
Has the “Women’s Movement Been Disastrous?”
1994. Firing Line. Watch: There is a lot to talk about here, most of which I am ill-equipped to comment on with any degree of expertise. But I will make three comments: Historian Elizabeth Fox-Genovese is clearly the smartest person […]
Evangelical roundup for June 13, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land? Getting ready for the Southern Baptist arrival in Anaheim. Christianity Today previews it here. Terry Mattingly on a recent attempt to define evangelicalism. And another attempt. Michael Bird: “Certain theologies enable sexual abuse” Paula […]
Episode 39: “Friendly Congregations”
How the GOP used evangelicals to get George W. Bush elected in 2004 Episode 39: “Friendly Congregations” dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: If you […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Great American writers and misery Early Quaker spirituality in one map Alan Ryan reviews Oliver Zunz, The Man who Understood Democracy: The Life of Alexis de Tocqueville “History will accept […]
Our current needs at Current
Recently someone asked me about the most pressing financial needs at Current. Great question. Here are few: We are currently paying our writers, but we would like to pay them more! We are bringing-on some additional editors and copy-editors and […]
Senators agree on bipartisan gun safety
A step in the right direction. Here is a Politico: A group of 20 senators struck a bipartisan gun safety framework on Sunday, marking a significant breakthrough in Congress’ attempts to address recent back-to-back mass shootings. In a Sunday morning […]
What is going on at Biola University?
It appears that the Los Angeles Times has learned that many conservative Christian colleges are having a difficult time navigating the political and cultural changes of the last decade or so. Here is a taste of Thomas Curwen’s piece on […]