Here is the latest from Politico on the independent presidential candidate with the family name: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is collecting checks from past Donald Trump donors at a much higher rate than former Joe Biden contributors, a sign the […]
Gaza in maps
I found this BBC story, complete with maps, helpful for understanding what is happening in Gaza right now.
The Department of Education fines Grand Canyon University $37.7 million
We introduced you to this story last month.Get up to speed here. Katherine Knott has the latest at Insider Higher Ed: The Education Department is fining Grand Canyon University a record $37.7Â million for misleading more than 7,500 students about the […]
The GOP debate stage is narrowing
Still no Trump, but next week’s debate in Miami will include Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, and Tim Scott. Scott just made it. Here‘s Allison Novelo at CBS News: Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has secured his spot […]
The Southern Baptist Convention: Who’s in charge?
We covered the sexual assault amicus brief controversy here and here for those who need to get up to speed. The disarray in the Southern Baptist Convention reached new “heights” this week, prompting one Virginia pastor to ask “who’s driving […]
The United Auto Workers now have deals with all three automakers
This is a significant victory for the working class and unions. Here is Alex N. Press at Jacobin: Forty-four days after occupying the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, in 1936, during the first sit-down strike, the United Auto Workers […]
Andrew Wehrman wins the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Gomes Memorial Book Prize
The Central Michigan University history professor won the prize for his book The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution. Listen to our interview with Andrew Wehrman in Episode 107 of The Way of Improvement Leads […]
What did the founding fathers mean by “virtue”?
Recently a follower on one of my social media sites asked me for some reading material on the 18th-century understanding of virtue. I have tried over the years to inform many of my fellow evangelicals that when the founders talked […]
A video message from the Executive Editor (me!) of Current
As always, thanks for your support:
Saturday Night Live on George Washington’s dream for America
SNL at its best:
Bart Barber, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, admits that his approval of the Kentucky sexual abuse amicus brief was a “mistake”
We covered this story yesterday. It doesn’t look for the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, or SBTS president Albert Mohler. Here is Barber’s statement: Last week a reporter published a story about an amicus curia brief that the […]
Episode 121: “Reagan’s Evangelical Vision for America”
How did Ronald Reagan use the media to shape his evangelical vision for America, a vision rooted in political freedom, economic freedom, and religious freedom that is still with us today and continues to define the discourse of both of […]
Evangelical roundup for October 30, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? Evangelicals in Argentina are pushing to get national recognition for Reformation Day–October 31. Always good to see reporting by Messiah University graduate Morgan Lee! Sadly, this doesn’t surprise me: white evangelicals are more likely […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Wilfred McClay on the “burden of the humanities“ Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s ancestor took the Ironclad Oath in 1864. Natalie Zemon Davis, RIP Greg Lukianoff vs. cancel culture. […]
Rick Warren on the SBC’s Executive Committee & Albert Mohler’s seminary: “They have no intention of helping victims of the sexual abuse they covered up.”
Here is Jeremy Gray at Alabama.Com: The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Kentucky State Supreme Court arguing an expanded child abuse law should not allow claims to be brought against ânon-perpetratorsâ such as religious organizations, the Louisville […]
What is going on at the University of North Carolina?
Here is Brianna Atkinson at WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio: “The UNC System Board of Governors allocated $3.7 billion of operating expenses from the state budget. The two-year funding plan includes money for new university programs, rural healthcare partnerships and faculty […]
What MAGA culture looks like in 8,000 responses to a David French tweet about leaving the platform
Last week we saw how the MAGA evangelical wing responded to a Russell Moore tweet thanking Joe Biden for his support of Israel. Today it is New York Times columnist, evangelical conservative, and dogged anti-Trumper David French‘s turn to take […]
Song of the Day
Mike Pence suspends his presidential campaign
Here is CNN: Former Vice President Mike Pence has suspended his campaign for president amid lagging poll numbers and financial challenges, vowing to help elect âprincipled Republican leadersâ moving forward. âAfter much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign […]
Edward Garrison Draper is admitted to the Maryland bar
His admission came 166 years after he first applied to the bar and was denied. Here is Sydney Trent at The Washington Post: Edward Garrison Draper was more prepared to be a lawyer than most White attorneys in the mid-19th […]