The last time I talked to Patrick Spero he had just left his position as the Director of the Library and Museum at the American Philosophical Society (APS) and had taken a similar post at Mount Vernon. Now he’s back […]
Way of Improvement
Raphael Warnock’s “American covenant” and where his vision for a Micah 6:8 nation goes off the rails
Raphael Warnock delivered a real stemwinder last night at the Democratic National Convention. Speeches like this remind me of why I felt compelled to argue in 2018 that the early civil rights movement provides the best historical model for evangelicals, […]
The Author’s Corner with Hendrik Hartog
Hendrik Hartog is Class of 1921 Bicentennial Professor in the History of American Law and Liberty, Emeritus at Princeton University. This interview is based on his new book, Nobody’s Boy and His Pals: The Story of Jack Robbins and the […]
Former federal justice J. Michael Luttig endorses Kamala Harris
I remember when conservative legal scholar J. Michael Luttig was on the short list of judges considered for a Supreme Court nomination. Then Donald Trump came along and started playing fast and loose with American institutions and the United States […]
The Fannie Lou Hammer convention?
Maxine Waters just spoke on night one of the DNC convention. While many have been comparing this Chicago convention to the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Waters invoked Fannie Lou Hamer and the 1964 DNC convention in Atlantic City. It has […]
One night event: “Faith and Democracy and the Legacy of the First Prayer in Congress”
Join Carpenters’ Hall at the American Philosophical Society‘s Benjamin Franklin Hall on the evening of September 5th for a rousing discussion between nine faith leaders from historic Philadelphia congregations. They will discuss and debate prayer and religion in American government […]
The Author’s Corner with Michael J. Douma
Michael J. Douma is Associate Professor in the McDonough School of Business and Director of the Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics at Georgetown University. This interview is based on his new book, The Slow Death of […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Robert McCoy reviews Brenda Wineapple’s Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation. How the internet is remaking us. Prayers at Trump rallies Sara Georgini reviews […]
Kevin Williamson on “Shepherds for Sale”: “Reviewing a book like this is like trying to argue with an avalanche—an avalanche of stupidity and error.”
Ouch! There are reviews, and then there are REVIEWS. Kevin Williamson’s review of Megan Basham’s Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda is a REVIEW. I haven’t really been following all the publicity surrounding […]
Former Cornerstone University professors start “Contrary U”
After Cornerstone University fired humanities professor Matt Bonzo and Michael Stevens (and others), the chair of the Board of Trustees implied that they were “contrarians.” If you are not familiar with what happened at Cornerstone, check out our coverage here. […]
“White, patriarchal, nationalist Christians who seek power to transform American culture through conservative-leaning politics and free market economics” for Kamala Harris?
Earlier this week, a group called “Evangelicals for Harris” met on a ZOOM call to explain why evangelicals should vote for Kamala Harris. Who are these “Evangelicals for Harris?” In a recent essay at the Journal of the American Academy […]
The church does not affiliate with political parties. It holds government accountable, regardless of who is in office.
I finally managed to get a copy of N.T. Wright and Michael Bird’s book Jesus and the Powers. I’m looking forward to digging into it. Christianity Today recently published a short interview with Wright. Here is a taste: In your […]
I think Trump adviser Stephen Miller forgot about the slave trade
Movie clip of the day
Final scenes of Godfather 2:
Gilder-Lehrman Institute/Gettysburg College M.A. program in American history expands to include community college teachers
I get this question a lot from high school history teachers: “Do you recommend the Gettysburg College-Gilder-Lehrman Institute MA in American History? Short answer: Yes. This is the only online graduate program I recommend. Here’s the latest: At $750 per […]
Video: “The Role of the Bible in the Founding of the United States and Religious Mandates in Public Schools”
Here is the video of the AHA “History Behind the Headlines” series. Glad to join Jim Grossman, Jon Butler, Holly Brewer, and Heath Carter for this discussion:
“Evangelicals for Harris” releases an ad. Is this a pro-Harris or anti-Trump movement?
The group “Evangelicals for Harris” just released its first political ad. The ad makes me wonder: Is “Evangelicals for Harris” a pro-Harris political movement or an anti-Trump movement.? Watch the ad: Franklin Graham is not happy with the use of […]
“It’s like he’s choosing to lose”
Gabriel Sherman, writing at Vanity Fair, informs us that Republican donors and Trump campaign officials are “struggling to understand why Trump seems to be sabotaging his own candidacy”: Trump has been in a self-destructive spiral since the moment Democrats replaced Joe […]
Franklin & Marshall Poll: Harris leads Trump; Casey leads McCormick
Here is a taste: Vice President Harris leads Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, 46% to 43%. The main reasons that Harris voters are supporting her candidacy include anti-Trumpism (18%), women’s rights (17%), character (15%), partisanship (13%), and democracy (13%). The top […]
How Harris is transcending Trump
E.J. Dionne is right: The sudden and radical shift in the trajectory of the 2024 campaign owes to more than the replacement of President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. To a degree that’s still not fully appreciated, Harris […]