Here is Hannah McClellan at Christianity Today: Four months after Liberty University filed a motion to dismiss a whistleblower’s lawsuit, the former dean suing the school amended his complaint with more detail about the alleged fraud he reported to authorities. He alleges […]
Evangelical roundup for June 12, 2023
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 […]
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:
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 […]
What does the Uganda anti-homosexuality law say? How are some American evangelicals responding?
As you may have heard, Uganda just passed an anti-homosexuality law. Here is a summary: Read the entire bill here. Here is Caleb Ecarma at Vanity Fair: Antigay sentiment in Uganda has climbed in recent years due in no small […]
Evangelical roundup for June 8, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land: Deconstructing Molly Worthen’s conversion. Joel Looper reviews Daniel G. Hummel, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism. Where do Reformed evangelicals go after the death of Tim Keller? Can evangelicalism be revitalized?: Is evangelical renewal […]
In 1970 historian Martha Hodes was held hostage by Palestinian militants. She is now revisiting those memories.
American historians know New York University historian Martha Hodes for A Sea Captain’s Wife and Mourning Lincoln. But her latest book is different. In My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering, Hodes writes about the time her plane […]
Lessons on independent thinking from writer Susan Sontag
Over at The Atlantic, writer Katie Roiphe asks: “What would the intellectual powerhouse think about our culture of groupthink and self-righteousness?” She begins: If you are sitting around wondering what Susan Sontag would make of our current political moment, a […]