Peter Wehner is an evangelical Christian, a conservative, a member of the George W. Bush administration, and a regular contributor to The New York Times and The Atlantic. He has been a consistent critic of Donald Trump ever since he […]
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What is trending 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:
Did God answer Franklin Graham’s prayer?
🙂
Special Evangelical roundup: The Trump verdict
Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felonies today. It’s only been a little more than an hour, but there are already plenty of early initial reactions from American evangelical Christians: Warren Throckmorton: Ryan Helfenbein of Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom […]
A convicted felon (on 34 counts) is running for President of the United States
The sentencing is on July 11, 2024. This is also the first time in United States history that a president has been convicted of a felony. Here is NBC News: A New York jury has found Donald Trump guilty on […]
“Thank you, driver”
David Bragdon remembers how Bill Walton treated a Portland Trail-Blazers bus driver. Here is a taste: After the silent stretching, they slowly and methodically walked through plays, never breaking a sweat, Walton always in the middle, making slight gestures and […]
Is real learning possible in universities?
Cultural critic William Deresiewicz thinks it is getting harder and harder for people to find humanities-based learning in the modern academy. He offers some alternatives.–places were one can read deeply and engage ideas in such a way that might nourish […]
The GOP is a Trump cult. Just ask Bob Good
Lets talk about Bob Good, the congressman who represents Virginia’s 5th district: Good has a pretty impressive MAGA record. But that won’t get him very far in today’s GOP. Why? Because he would not bend the knee to Trump. Yes, […]
“They like the singer but not the song”
Pope Francis’s 60 Minutes interview is still making waves. Evangelicals are freaking out because Francis said that human beings are “good at heart.” Progressive Catholics are mad about his remarks on the ordination of women as deacons and his comments […]
Let’s talk about climate change
Katherine Hayhoe is Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor and the Political Science Endowed Chair of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. (Wow, that’s a long title!) She is an evangelical Christian (her husband pastors an evangelical congregation […]
Vice-President Rubio?
Will it be an all-Florida GOP ticket in November? Florida senator “Little Marco” Rubio wants to part of the ticket, but he doesn’t want to lobby for it. Here is Michael Bender and Patricia Mazzei at The New York Times: […]
Have we lost our moorings as a society?
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman thinks so, and he makes some pretty good points. Here is a taste of his column, “How We’ve Lost Our Moorings as a Society“: …Almost 30 years ago I visited the Atlantic Forest in Brazil with […]
Ty Cobb hit .367, but Josh Gibson hit .372
Here is the Associated Press: Josh Gibson became Major League Baseball’s career leader with a .372 batting average, surpassing Ty Cobb’s .367, when Negro Leagues records for more than 2,300 players were incorporated Tuesday after a three-year research project. Gibson’s […]
Ken Burns at Brandeis
Documentary film maker Ken Burns recently delivered the commencement address to the graduating class of Brandeis University. Read it here. Or watch it here: Here is a taste of Karen Tumulty’s piece at The Washington Post: Burns offered some elegantly […]
Talking evangelicalism and race with Edward Carson
It’s not often I get to talk with a Black ex-evangelical who is a history teacher, DEI specialist, and member of the Communist Party USA. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Eddie Carson on WJOP radio (Newburyport, Massachusetts). We talk […]
Bill Walton on the Clippers
From Bill Walton’s Los Angeles Clipper days:
“I’m trying to figure out what gym we’re in here”
Classic Bill Walton. RIP.
On the narcissism of Trump’s Memorial Day remarks
In case you missed it, yesterday Trump wished everyone a happy Memorial Day: Memorial Day is a day we remember those who fought and died for our country. It is a day for historical thinking–a day for connecting with those […]
“How is it…that work became culturally ascendant, and the pursuit of a career achieved a kind of centrality in the American psyche?”
It is strange to ask people, upon first meeting them, about their religion, political views, or leisure activities. But it is perfectly acceptable to ask them about their work. Over at Inside Higher Ed, historian Steven Mintz asks: Why do […]
This is the guy running for governor of North Carolina
Here is David Graham at The Atlantic: A decade ago, Mark Robinson had a dead-end job and a nasty habit of posting anti-Semitic, homophobic, and sexist screeds on Facebook. Today he is North Carolina’s lieutenant governor. This November, he could […]