Christian nationalism was in the news again this weekend. As we noted in today’s Roundup, a lot of evangelicals (and others) are upset about Politico journalist Heidi Przybyla’s claim that anyone who believes that their rights come from God is […]
Way of Improvement
Evangelical roundup for February 26, 2024
What is happening in Evangelical land? How Trump won over South Carolina evangelicals. Dan Silliman with a brief synopsis of Christianity Today‘s reporting on the South Carolina primary: Some Brazilian evangelicals see no contradiction between practicing Christianity and criticizing Israel. […]
South Dakota Senator John Thune is the latest evangelical to jump on the Trump train
Yet another evangelical leader has endorsed a candidate for president who instigated an insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, is under indictment on 91 felony charges, and sexually assaulted and defamed a woman in a New York department store dressing room. […]
The Koch network gives up on Nikki Haley
One of the major funders of Haley’s campaign is not spending any more money on it. Here is Natalie Allison at Politico: Americans For Prosperity Action, the powerful conservative group supporting Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, will no […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Liberal socialism Peter Wehner on “The Chosen“ When people thought California was an island. Teaching the secrecy of the Constitutional Convention. The John Birch Society is now mainstream Former Harvard […]
Theocracy reigns at CPAC. Christian nationalist says “we didn’t get all the way there on January 6th”
In my recent review of Rob Reiner’s film “God and Country” at Christianity Today, I suggested that many on the political left tend to conflate “Christian nationalism” with basically any form of conservative evangelical political engagement. But that doesn’t mean […]
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:
Evangelical roundup for February 22, 2024
What is happening in evangelical land? The New York Times obituary for WORLD magazine founder Joel Belz. Randall Balmer on his father’s evangelicalism. More on the recent conference on Carl F.H. Henry’s The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism. Conflict at […]
As Current grows in readership and quality, we’d love your support!
As Executive Editor of Current, I am continually blown away by the authors who entrust their work to our care. Check out, for example: The Arena blog has been on fire of late. Check out posts on Alexei Navalny, the […]
Teachers deserve a lot more money
How about a staring salary of $100,000 a year? Here is Daniel Pink at The Washington Post: Adam DiPerna always had to hold it in. As a Spanish teacher at Gerald G. Huesken Middle School in Lancaster, Pa., heâd arrive in his […]
Scholars: Trump is the worst president in American history.
Here is the top 20 from the “2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey.” Obama and Ulysses S. Grant are on the upswing. Andrew Jackson and Calvin Coolidge out of the top 20. The bottom three: Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, and […]
Trump responds to the death of Alexei Navalny
Trump does not condemn Putin for Navalny’s death. He shows no remorse for Navalny or his family. He is unable to exercise even the smallest amount of empathy. And he uses Navalny’s death to air his own grievances. But hey, […]
The Author’s Corner with Kirsten Wood
Kirsten Wood is Associate Professor of History at Florida International University. This interview is based on her new book, Accommodating the Republic: Taverns in the Early United States (University of North Carolina Press, 2023). JF: What led you to write […]
Evangelical roundup for February 19, 2024
What is happening in Evangelical land? Sojourners reviews Rob Reiner’s film “God and Country” The battle for souls in the deepest Amazon. The folks at the Institute on Religion & Democracy commemorate the 75th anniversary of Carl F.H. Henry’s The […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Jonathan RĂ©e reviews Ămile Perreau-Saussine’s Alasdair McIntyre: An Intellectual Biography. The publishing world‘s “grumpy old men” and “cantankerous codgers.” If you come after them, “you best not miss.” What holds […]
Today at USA Today: “The politics of character in American evangelicalism is over”
Happy to help USA Today’s Chris Brennan with his most recent USA Today column. Here is a taste: “John Fea, a history professor at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, explains it as ‘a contractual relationship’ between Trump and his evangelical supporters. […]
“Christian nation idea fuels US conservative causes, but historians say it misreads founders’ intent”
Happy to help Associated Press religion reporter Peter Smith with this piece. A taste: Those arguing for a Christian America are generally not historians and not really talking about history â theyâre talking politics, said John Fea, author of the […]
Social media “created ‘an alternate universe’ in which identity-based sufferingâor merely the claim to such…could be converted into social capital.”
I just finished reading Thomas Chatterton Williams’s fascinating piece at The Atlantic on Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson. Here is a taste: In the summer of 2020, the playwright Michael R. Jackson received an unusual message from a fan of A […]
Romney: âI must admit that I find sexual assault to be a line I will not cross in the people I select to be my presidentâ
Mitt Romney still believes in the politics of character. What a dinosaur! đ Watch: Compare with this: For those who are not on X, here is Graham’s full text: We need to pray for our country and where it is […]
Newly elected New York congressman Tom Suozzi echoes RFK’s 1968 campaign
Yesterday I posted a piece on Tom Suozzi’s victory in the New York 3 special election to replace George Santos. During the campaign, Suozzi praised the recent Senate bipartisan border bill, calling it “the toughest and fairest set of reforms […]