Our guest on this episode, public historian Alena Pirok, explains how John D. Rockefeller’s vision of Colonial Williamsburg eventually gave way to a vision of the site championed by an early 20th century clergyman who saw ghosts. Join us for a conversion […]
Way of Improvement
Black pastor confronts Robert Jeffress on the legacy of racism at First Baptist-Dallas
Robert Jeffress, the Trump-loving pastor of Dallas’s First Baptist Church, should get credit for showing-up at this event. It’s a step in the right direction. Here is Matt Goodman at Dallas Magazine: Monday evening at SMU’s Dallas Hall, Dr. Michael Waters, […]
Song of the day
Context here. (HT: C K)
Why Jonathan Haidt is resigning from his professional society
Here is a small taste of the New York University psychology professor’s piece at The Chronicle of Higher Education: I have been thinking a lot about fiduciary duty because my main professional association — the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, […]
Adam Greenway resigns as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
He replaced the morally compromised Paige Patterson. Now he is out. Here is Mark Wingfield of Baptist News Global: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary confirmed Friday afternoon, Sept. 23, what BNG first reported Thursday evening, Sept. 22: Adam Greenway resigned as […]
How the students and alumni of one Christian college are benefiting from Biden’s debt-relief plan
The school is Fresno Pacific University, a Mennonite Brethren university in California. Here is Katherine Knott at Inside Higher Ed: As congressional and state Republicans explore ways to block President Biden’s loan-forgiveness plan, one Christian college is touting its benefits […]
Editorial changes at Current
Current editor Eric Miller’s team is expanding. We are happy to announce two new changes to our masthead. Robert Erle Barham, formerly an Associate Editor at Current, is now our Deputy Editor. He will work directly with Eric in the […]
Former First Things editor Damon Linker on the “Know Your Enemy” podcast
The guys at Know Your Enemy Podcast talk with former First Things editor Damon Linker. It’s a really interesting interview. He talks about his Straussian influences, his intellectual debt to Mark Lilla, and his work as a speechwriter for Rudy […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Marvin Olasky, “LONG FORM: A Wrinkle in Journalism History“ John Fea, “Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?“ Nadya Williams, “‘Joshua Was Here’“ John Fea, “Seeing New Things, Asking New […]
Steven Mintz on popular history
A thoughtful piece from a veteran American historian. Here is the University of Houston’s Steven Mintz at Inside Higher Ed: No one owns history. The key question in evaluating any historical work, whether by a professional or a nonspecialist, is quality and […]
Dreaming about school
I have three recurring dreams about school and academic life. In the first dream, I am a college student taking a literature class. After the first few days of lectures I stop attending the class and do not return until […]
Episode 48: The Christian Right Against Arlen Specter
Evangelical Bush supporters are angry at the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Episode 48: “The Christian Right Against Arlen Specter’” dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here […]
David Barton manipulates the past for political ends. The latest.
At a recent Family Research Council event, David Barton, the GOP political activist who uses the past to promote his politics, confused an early 19th-century Sunday School for a “public school.” For some, this might be an honest mistake. But […]
Old state anti-abortion laws are becoming relevant again
Current contributing editor Daniel K. Williams explains in a recent piece at The Atlantic: Abortion opponents seem not to have expected some of the more draconian consequences of the Dobbs decision—that anti-abortion laws would prevent pregnant women who were not seeking abortions […]
Evangelical roundup for September 22, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land? 60% of evangelicals want America to be declared a Christian nation. Theological heresies evangelicals believe. Evangelicals and Catholicism. A forum on evangelicals and voting in Brazil. Tim Tebow auctions-off his Heisman Trophy. When the […]
The seven deadly sins of writing
Thomas C. Foster teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Michigan-Flint. In a recent piece at LitHub he offers his seven deadly sins. They are: worry, self-doubt, overconfidence, muddiness, vagueness, poor structure, and dishonesty. Here’s a taste: Dishonesty in […]
Trump’s desperate appeal to QAnon
Here is Juliette Kayyem at The Atlantic: For a man who believes in nothing, has no coherent ideology or value system except his own continuing relevance, obsesses over conspiracies, and subsists on grievance and anger, Donald Trump took a long […]
Gen Z can’t read cursive
Historian and former Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust wonders how they will interpret the past. Here is a taste of her piece at The Atlantic: Given a current generation of students in which so few can read or write cursive, one […]
Remembering Rich Mullins
Back in 1988 I won a college talent show with my roommates singing Rich Mullins‘s “Screen Door.” We dedicated our performance to all the non-music/vocal majors at our small Christian college. We were a bunch of jocks who thought we […]
The global Catholic church
Notre Dame historian John McGreevy: Quick: Name the countries with the most baptized Catholics. You might guess Brazil (172.2 million) or the United States (72.3 million). You might miss Mexico (110.9 million) and the Philippines (83.6 million). You might be […]