As of the publication of this post the House of Representatives has been without a Speaker for 13 days and roughly 17 hours. Later today, the House will convene to vote on Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s candidacy. Last night, Kentucky […]
CBS News, Christian nationalism, coffee, and my cluttered home office
It looks like this 2021 CBS News video is making the rounds again–at least in my social media world. CBS asked me to offer commentary on Christian nationalism, but I had no idea I would be making coffee (go Messiah […]
Donald Trump: The Lord’s apostle
Here is Roger Stone at this weekend’s “Pastors for Trump” conference in Miami: Apparently Trump prays with Stone: Meanwhile, Stone’s partner in Christian Trumpism, former National Security Director Michael Flynn, will do a cameo with you for $150:
Episode 120: “Popular Historians in Post-War America”
Should professional historians write for the general public? If so, who is the “public” they are trying to reach? And when historians do write for the public how do they manage to make their work readable and accessible without sacrificing […]
Evangelical roundup for October 16, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? For many American evangelicals, neutrality on matters related to Israel is not an option. The history of evangelical views on Israel. Andy Stanley and the future of American evangelicalism. Covenant College has a new […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: A helpful timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Danielle Allen: America’s “domestic dysfunction and internal division leave out allies around the globe vulnerable.” Lonely roads Jennifer Szalai reviews Fergus M. Bordewich, […]
Eboo Patel: Diversity training should be about “contributions,” not “wounds”
Eboo Patel is the founder and presdient of Interfaith America and the author of We Need to Build: Field Notes for a Diverse Democracy. Earlier this year we called your attention to his piece at The Chronicle of Education: “Today’s […]
More than 700 children dead in Gaza; 2,450 injured
Here is CNN: More than 700 children have been killed in Gaza and another 2,450 have been injured since last Saturday, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, citing local sources. “According to the latest reports by local health authorities and […]
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:
Pray for Peace
It is time to stand with the people of Israel. It is time to stand with the people of Gaza.
Steve Scalise drops out of Speaker race
Yesterday the Republican Party nominated Lousiana’s Steve Scalise as their choice to replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. Today Scalise withdrew his name from consideration. Here is CNN: Rep. Steve Scalise announced he was dropping out of the speaker’s race […]
Evangelical roundup for October 12, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? European evangelicals pray for peace in the Middle East. Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews respond to the Hamas attack on Israel. An Arab evangelical responds to the Hamas attack on Israel. Francis Chan is […]
Steve Scalise wins GOP nomination for House Speaker
Here is CNN: Rep. Steve Scalise has won the House GOP’s nomination for speaker during a secret ballot vote, according to multiple sources familiar. The final vote tally was 113 for Steve Scalise and 99 for Jim Jordan. The threshold […]
Evangelical pastor John MacArthur in 1998: “When a ruler is given to lies, he will accumulate around him people who can tolerate lying.”
Back in 2015 I started collecting quotes from Christian leaders who made bold statements about presidential character during the 1998 Clinton impeachment and then seemed to ignore their own principles when Donald Trump was running for president. I called attention […]
U.S. intelligence doubts that Iran was directly involved in the Hamas attack on Israel, but a full conclusion on the matter is pending
CNN is reporting: The United States has collected specific intelligence that casts doubt on the idea that Iran was directly involved in the planning, resourcing or approving of Saturday’s bloody attack on Israel by Hamas, according to several sources familiar with the intelligence. Still, […]
Palestinian Christian journalist: It’s time for the U.S. to recognize a Palestinian state
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian Christian and award-winning journalist who was the first Palestinian to interview former Israeli prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. He has spent much of his career fighting for a free media in Palestine under […]
Princeton historian Kevin Kruse is done with Twitter (X)
Back in 2018, in Episode 34 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast, we talked with Princeton historian Kevin Kruse about his use of Twitter to engage with the public. At the time, he had over 84,000 followers. A […]
Historian Michael Kazin remembers his life as a Weatherman
Michael Kazin is one of the best political historians working today. Check out our interview with him in Episode 41 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast. We discussed his work on populism. Back in 2021, Current published his […]
The New York Times: “America’s duty as Israel’s friend is to stand firm in its support”
A taste of yesterday’s New York Times editorial page: President Biden is right to express America’s full support for Israel at this painful moment. The United States, as its closest ally, has a critical role to play. Moderate Israeli opposition leaders said […]
Gallup: 63% of Americans want a third major political party
Here is Jeffrey Jones at Gallup: WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults currently agree with the statement that the Republican and Democratic parties do “such a poor job” of representing the American people that “a third major party […]